Partial Simulations

A partial simulation is one in which a selected group of students is scheduled while the currently assigned schedules for all other students remain unchanged. The Scheduling Optimizer automatically recognizes partial simulation data generated by Schedule Pro.

In a partial simulation, the Scheduling Optimizer reserves the number of seats in each master schedule section assigned to students who are not selected for the simulation run. It then schedules the students who are selected for the partial simulation using the seats which remain up to the section capacity.

Procedure

Follow these steps to run a partial simulation using the Scheduling Optimizer.

Flag individual students you wish to explicitly include in the partial simulation.

Students to be scheduled may be mass selected based on matching a set of selection field values (see below). Optionally, you may flag individual students you wish to include in the list of students to be scheduled regardless of any other selection criteria in effect. To explicitly flag a student for inclusion in the partial simulation:

  • Open the student's Student Course Request atom and select the Other Info tab.
  • In the Scheduling Controls area, select Yes for "Student needs to be scheduled".

 

Synchronize section loading totals with actual student section assignments.

If you have revised any student course request lists or modified any assigned or prescheduled section entries since the most recent Results Update, the totals stored for some sections in the ASMS file have become outdated.

  • Open the Scheduling Sections atom.
  • Click the Sections menu, then click "Update Counts" in the list that appears. A warning message informs you that the process may take several minutes. Click OK to dismiss the message and run the process.

Specify that data is to be generated for a partial simulation.

  • Open the Run Scheduler Simulation atom and replace the Full option for the new simulation by selecting "Partial." in the pulldown list beside the "Generate a new data set" radio button. The "Generate a new data set" radio button is automatically checked and "Partial." is displayed.

  • Click the Run button. The Students to Schedule screen opens.

Use the Students to Schedule screen to build a list of students selected for the partial simulation.

  • Add a group of students matching a specified criterion by entering values in one or more of the selection fields in the top part of the window, then clicking the Query button. Note that the system interprets the selection field values as a series of "AND" conditions; to be selected for scheduling, a student must match all of the designated selection values.
  • Automatically identify students whose class assignment information is out of date and add them to the list of students selected for scheduling by clicking "Auto Add".
  • Add specific individual students to the list whose "Student needs to be scheduled" field has previously been set to "Yes" (see step 1 above) by setting the "Needs Scheduling" selection field to Yes, then clicking the Query button.
  • Remove students from the list of students selected for scheduling by selecting them, then clicking Remove.

The following example shows a selection consisting of all grade 10 girls.

Note: you can add and remove students from the list of students to be scheduled by repeating the above steps until the list includes exactly the students you wish to include in the partial simulation.

Run the partial simulation.

When the Students to Schedule screen displays the correct list of students selected for scheduling, follow these steps to run the partial simulation.

  • Click Schedule to generate the partial simulation data and run the Schedule Pro simulation.
  • Run the Scheduling Optimizer. Note that reports show only the students selected for scheduling in the simulation and courses requested by one or more of the selected students.

Record the partial scheduling simulation results in the SASIxp database.

  • Open the Results Update atom.
  • Uncheck the "Update the Master Schedule" checkbox (initially checked).
  • Check the "Update the Student Schedule" checkbox (initially unchecked).
  • Click the Update button.

  • Reply as usual to any messages which appear onscreen during the process.

The Results Update process loads the schedules generated for students included in the simulation run to the SASIxp database (schedules for students not scheduled by the simulation run are left unchanged) and recalculates all section loading totals.

Notes

  • Before running a partial simulation, be sure you run the preliminary step which updates section loading totals based on current student section assignments. If this step is omitted, the simulation will run but inaccurate section loading totals may cause some sections to be overfilled and/or some students to have unnecessary conflicts.
  • Scheduling Optimizer reports are based on the data actually included in the simulation. For a partial simulation, master schedule reports list sections only for courses requested by one or more students in the run. The number of requests and unscheduled requests for courses in master schedule reports apply only to the students scheduled in the simulation; however, the number of seats filled and number of seats remaining for each section shown reflect all students assigned to the section whether scheduled in this simulation or not.

    Scheduling Optimizer reports other than the Simulation Summary and Master Schedule Lists and Grids generated for a partial simulation may be of little or no use. In particular, Free Room and Free Teacher reports associated with a partial simulation should be disregarded since they are based on an incomplete master schedule. After the Results Update, standard SASIxp reports reflect overall current scheduling information.

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