Open AccessA university course timetabling problem
Author(s) -
J.M. Phala
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
orion/orion
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2224-0004
pISSN - 0259-191X
DOI - 10.5784/4-2-487
Subject(s) - heuristics , computer science , course (navigation) , scheduling (production processes) , heuristic , mathematical optimization , operations research , simple (philosophy) , artificial intelligence , mathematics , philosophy , physics , epistemology , astronomy , operating system
This paper addresses a university course timetabling problem. The problem as experienced at Unibo is formulated in such a way that simple heuristics can be used to achieve the objective of finding either an 'optimal' or a feasible practical solution. the problem is divided into three phases, namely grouping of courses into course groups, allocation of lecture rooms to courses within groups, and finally, scheduling of periods to course groups. Heuristic algorithms are proposed to solve this problem. The computerised algorithms which have been integrated into Unibo's Student Management System are fully implemented