Class scheduling by time slot for centres with many time slots

Training centres with many classes and weekly time slots often manage schedules in a spreadsheet or on a whiteboard. As the number of classes grows, it becomes hard to track which class meets on which day, which session has moved and which student is in which time slot.

This post describes the steps to schedule classes by time slot, from initial setup to running each session, and how Sol26 Edu is designed to support each step.

Classes, time slots and sessions

Before scheduling, the centre needs to agree on three terms. A class is a group of students on the same programme. A time slot is a recurring weekly time when the class meets, for example Monday at 18:00. A session is one specific lesson on one specific date.

A class can have one or more time slots. Each time slot generates a weekly series of sessions. Attendance and schedule changes always happen on sessions, not on time slots.

• Class: a group of students and their programme
• Time slot: a recurring weekday and time
• Session: one lesson on a specific date, where attendance is recorded

Step 1: Prepare class and time slot data

Initial data covers the class list, each class's time slots and the student list. Review the existing spreadsheets to remove finished classes and students who have left before importing.

1. 1List the classes currently running
2. 2Record the weekly time slots of each class
3. 3Link students to the class and time slot they attend
4. 4Check for duplicate names and duplicate classes before importing

Step 2: Set up classes with one or more time slots

Each class is set up with its weekly time slots. A class meeting twice a week has two time slots, a class meeting three times has three. This reflects how the centre actually runs and is the basis for generating sessions.

For centres with many time slots, name classes by a consistent convention, for example programme, level and main time slot, so staff recognise the class quickly when taking attendance.

Step 3: Generate sessions automatically

Once classes and time slots exist, the system generates sessions from the schedule. The centre does not create each session of the course by hand, and every class gets its sessions created the same way.

Generated sessions still need to be adjustable. For a public holiday or an unavailable instructor, the manager changes the date of the relevant session instead of deleting and recreating it, including sessions dated in the past.

Step 4: Run the centre session by session

With the schedule in place, daily work revolves around each session: attendance, date changes when needed and tracking student progress. The centre manager can see sessions attended per student without consolidating several spreadsheets.

• Take attendance during the session
• Change the date of a moved session, including past sessions
• Handle students changing time slot in the same system
• Track sessions attended per student

Classes with several time slots

When a class has several time slots, not every student attends all of them. Some students sign up for two sessions a week and later reduce to one. The schedule must handle changes for an individual student without changing the schedule of the whole class.

Sol26 Edu is designed to cancel one time slot for that student only and move the remaining sessions to the days of the remaining time slot, while the class schedule stays unchanged.

Frequently asked questions

How many time slots can a class have?

Sol26 Edu is designed to create a class with one or more weekly time slots. The number depends on the class's actual schedule.

Does each session have to be created by hand?

No. Sessions are generated automatically from the class time slots, and the date of each session can then be adjusted when needed.

What data should be entered when starting with the software?

The class list, each class's time slots and the initial student list. Review the data in existing spreadsheets before importing.