Timetable Glossary, Policies & Frequently Asked Questions

Glossary and Policies

Frequently Asked Questions

Glossary and Policies

Below is an explanation of terms and polices that are used in relation to the University Timetable

• Activity: One sitting of a particular type (eg Lecture, Workshop, Tutorial) that is part of a subject.
• Activity Template: The shell information that is required in an activity. Any activity created from this template will be running with this information An example of an activity template could be described as follows:
  1. L1 is to run for 60 minutes, have 50 students attending and needs a Lecture Theatre with Full AV/IT.
  2. If two lectures were created from this template.
  3. L1/01 and L1/02 would both run for 60 minutes, have 50 students attending and would be set to run in a Lecture Theatre with Full AV/IT.
• Activity Template Web Screens - Data collection pages used for the construction of the timetable.
• Clash: Occurs when students are enrolled in two subjects that are running at the same time.
• Clash Tolerance: The timetable office will generally tolerate a clash if it affects less than 10% of the students enrolled in both of the classes that are clashing.
• Class Durations: Classes should run from 5 minutes after the listed start time until 5 minutes before the listed finish time. This allows students and staff 10 minutes to vacate and fill theatre, and to travel to other locations for following classes.
  For example:
  • An hour long class with a listed start time of 10:00am should actually run from 10:05-10:55am
  • A one and a half hour long class with a listed start time of 2:15pm should actually run from 2:20-3:40pm
• Confirmation Slip: What you will receive from the timetabling office or Venue Hirings once you have made any ad-hoc booking. Make sure that you check the confirmation slip to ensure that all of the information contained in it is correct. (Changes to teaching activities do not receive confirmation slips, as they can be viewed on the web timetable)
• Constraints: Limitations on where an Activity can be run. Some limitations include room size, location and audio-visual requirements.
• Departmental Contact: Person in your department who all timetable requests should pass through before being put forward to timetabling.
• Double Booking: Situation where two groups believe that they both have a room booked at a particular time. This is impossible using the Syllabus Plus system. One group or the other will actually have the room booked. It is useful to check Confirmation Slips of bookings or class times on the web timetable to ensure that what you asked to have booked has been booked.
• Lockdown: Point at which the status on the timetable web pages changes from “draft” to “final”. Changes to the timetable after this point require justification.
• Personalised Timetable: Individual Student Timetable.
• Precinct: General Area of the university encompassing two or more neighbouring buildings.
• Restrictions: See ‘Constraints'
• Same Time Information: Activities that are to run at the same time as each other. This may be between two different levels of difficulty within the same discipline area – eg. Introductory Esperanto 1, Intermediate Esperanto 1 and Advanced Esperanto 1, which are in the one semester to enable movement between levels by students. This can also refer to subjects that are the natural follow on from semester one to semester two – eg. Introductory Esperanto 1 in semester one and Introductory Esperanto 2 in semester two.
• Sequencing Information: The order that the Activities from a subject are to be scheduled
  For example:
  • Lecture must occur first, followed by the Screening.
  • No Tutorials to occur until after both the Lecture and Screening have occurred.
• Streams: Repeat sittings of an Activity (eg L1/01 and L1/02 – means two sittings of a lecture – teaching information repeated)
• Student Set: A combination of subjects that should not clash (due to high likelihood of students doing this combination, or listed in the handbook as a highly desirable combination for any set degree).
• Subject: A complete unit that students enrol in and receive points towards their degree.
• Subject Coordinator: Individual who is organising the running of a subject. This is not necessarily the same person who is lecturing in a specific class. For timetabling purposes, the lecturer, rather than the subject coordinator, should be attached to activities.
• Syllabus Plus: Timetable and room allocation software package used by Melbourne University .
• Teaching Staff: The staff member that is going to be in the room to lecture to students (this not necessarily the subject coordinator). If a subject is to run with many streams and the subject coordinator is only going to take one or two of these streams then they are not the Teaching Staff.
• Teaching Week Pattern: The weeks of the semester that a particular activity is going to occur. “Standard Teaching Week Pattern” indicates an Activity is going to be taught the full 12 weeks of a semester (or 24 weeks for full year subjects).
• TIC: ( Teaching Infrastructure Committee) “The primary function of the committee is to ascertain and evaluate the needs and wishes of members of the University in teaching infrastructure matters, and to advise the university on resource allocation and management for teaching spaces.”
• Teaching Spaces Services - Group that is responsible for the management of resources in rooms.
• Tutorial/Stream Allocation: See ‘Personalised Timetable'
• Staff Availabiity - A place where Departmental Contacts and/or teaching staff can enter information about when teaching staff are available to teach throughout the week.

Frequently Asked Questions

I’d like to book a room – who do I contact?
If you would like to book a room for a scheduled class
(which has a 6 digit subject code) please email
sa-timetable@unimelb.edu.au
If your booking is for a non scheduled class/meeting/external party, please email venue-management@unimelb.edu.au

• Venue preference
• Required capacity
• Resources required (eg data projection, iMedia, DVD/VCR)
• Room type (eg classroom, lecture theatre, computer lab)
• Date, time and duration of booking

I’ve been allocated a venue and I’m not sure if it has everything that I need?
Please check out the venue via this link:
http://www.ists.unimelb.edu.au/asp/ltpick.asp
If the venue you are enquiring about is not listed on this website,
please contact the Timetabling Office for more info.

How do I know if a venue is available for me to book?
Please use the following link:
http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/timetabling/building/thisweek.htm
This link is updated once per week, so you can only ever view one week at a time. Please use this as a guide as bookings are made and cancelled on a daily basis therefore the only definite way to know if a venue is free is to contact our office.

What does ‘T’ mean in the activity code?
The ‘T’ in an activity code denotes that the activity has been hidden from student view eg TL1/02, TS2/03, T5/06.
Just email us if you would like to change an activity from being hidden to being visible to students.

What are week patterns?
Week patterns are the weeks throughout the year when your activity is to be taught, please note the teaching week calendar.
Teaching Week 1 begins the first week of the calendar year, not the first week of semester 1 or 2.
Teaching Weeks Calender

Why do I have to enter week patterns?
There are two reasons, firstly we need to keep as many venues possible available for others to book and secondly in order to maintain security and prevent theft.

What are the standard week patterns?
Standard week patterns for semester 1 2009 are weeks 9-14 & 16-21.
Standard week patterns for semester 2 2009 are weeks 30-37 & 40-43.
If your booking is not for standard teaching weeks, please
advise the Timetable Office which weeks you require