The process of preparing the timetable for a semester starts about three and a half months before the semester begins. To understand the intricacies of this procedure, the English Press Club spoke to Professor Bhupendra K. Sharma, formerly in charge of the timetable-making process. ‘The first step of the procedure is collecting information about the elective courses to be offered in the upcoming semester,’ said Professor Sharma. ‘Each department offers elective courses based on popular demand, gauged through forms circulated among students by the head of that department.’ The rest of the process is carried out through the following steps:

THE CLASS MAP:

After receiving the list of electives, the Instruction Division (ID) prepares a class map or registrability file for every student. A class map is a set of timetables formulated for students of various disciplines and years of study. The class map helps in understanding how one’s Compulsory Disciplinary Courses (CDCs) are scheduled. Through this, the ID ensures a clash-free timetable for all students, taking all possible combinations of science and engineering degrees into consideration.

THE FACULTY MAP:

The ID has prior information regarding the number of students registering for CDCs, and determines the number of lecture, tutorial, and practical sections accordingly. Following this, the ID asks for the faculty’s preferences in handling the courses offered in the following semester. These are then forwarded to the concerned Heads of Departments (HoDs), along with the personnel requirements for each course. The HoD then assigns instructors to the various courses offered by that department.

Subsequently, the ID prepares a faculty map. Analogous to the class map, this helps schedule the classes handled by the instructors. The ID ensures that the instructors get at least one free hour between two classes to prepare themselves for their next lecture. ‘After preparing a clash-free class map and faculty map, we move on to allocate rooms for different sections. Class strength and proximity to the department offering the course are taken into consideration while allocating rooms. The first draft of the timetable is uploaded to the ID website about fifteen days prior to registration,’ said Professor Sharma.

STUDENTS’ CONTRIBUTION:

Suggestions from students regarding the timetable are then accommodated. First, the ID resolves issues of clashes involving CDCs and department electives. Cases of clashes with open electives and humanities electives are addressed next. After ensuring that every student can take up all courses as required by the course structure, the ID moves on to accommodate special requests concerning courses that are in popular demand. ‘Although it is not possible to address every request that we receive, we try our best to satisfy as many students as possible,’ Professor Sharma said.

THE EXAMINATION SCHEDULE:

‘Preparation of the mid-semester and comprehensive examination timetables is a fairly straightforward process,’ said Professor Sharma.  Comprehensive exams span over a period of twelve days with two sessions per day, and the mid-semester exams span over a period of six days with four sessions per day. Hence, the number of sessions available for conducting the examinations remains twenty-four. There is a one-to-one correspondence between the lecture hour of a course and its place in the exam schedule. Hence, a clash-free timetable should mean a clash-free exam schedule. However, this may not be true in all cases. For courses that are offered as both, CDCs, and as a part of a minor degree programme, all students enrolled may not be free at the same time. In such cases, the exams are scheduled after 5 PM.

RESTRICTIONS ON COURSES:

Explaining the restrictions on registering for select courses, he said, ‘Some courses offered by the institute are in high demand. It is not feasible to accommodate all those who wish to take up the course, as the faculty members also have other assignments on campus. Moreover, most of these courses demand professors who are specialised in that area of study. Owing to the limitations in the number of such professors, the number of registrations is restricted.’ Final-year students are prioritised over others for such courses, as they are nearest to graduation. Similarly, the third-year students are prioritised over second-year students.

While speaking about the restrictions on repeating courses, he said, ‘There is no fixed upper cap on the number of students who can repeat a course. However, the courses have limited vacancies based on the availability of faculty. These vacancies are first filled by the students who have the course as their CDC, followed by the students with backlogs. If, after this, the course can accommodate more students, other students are allowed to repeat it.’