Automated Schedule System for Universities under the Bologna Education Process

Abstract

Introduction. Countries that have joined the Bologna Process in higher education assume certain obligations. One of them is the transition to a credit education system, which is based on the personal participation of each student in the formation of their curriculum. Each student has the opportunity to structure the learning process, choose subjects and the sequence of their study within the framework of the curriculum for the chosen specialty, create their own individual schedule in accordance with their interests, capabilities and needs. The credit training system is asynchronous. Naturally, software applications for scheduling classes, developed for the classical education system, do not work in this case. Purpose. Development of an algorithm and software for a class scheduling system designed for the credit education system and taking into account its features, and also meets all the “hard” restrictions and most of the “soft” requirements for the class schedule. Results. The algorithm and software of the interactive system of scheduling classes for universities that have joined the Bologna process, which takes into account the features of credit-modular system of training, have been developed. Conclusions. The developed system covers the full cycle of including students in groups to study selected subjects and teachers, starting from scheduling teachers, registering students and ending with the formation of individual schedules for each student; The proposed iterative process of scheduling makes it possible to make changes to the schedule of teachers and re-register students in the case of teachers who have not formed groups, or a significant number of students who were unable to enroll in subjects of interest to them; The interactive mode of operation with the system combines an automated process of scheduling with active participation of the user responsible for scheduling; The system guarantees the preparation of permissible timetables for teachers and students, taking into account the implementation of all "hard" restrictions, and significantly reduces the time required for scheduling; The system ensures to the maximum extent the quality of teachers’ schedules, namely, taking into account “soft” requirements with the active participation of the user, who has the opportunity to choose an option that reduces the value of the function proposed in the article that evaluates the quality of the schedule; The developed system ensures the effective use of the classroom fund in accordance with its capacity, specialization and affiliation.

Keywords

• bologna process of education
• credit system
• asynchronous learning system
• class schedule
• scheduling requirements
• computer system