Using the On-line Draft Timetable Review System (OTIS)

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1 Using the On-line Draft Timetable Review System (OTIS) OTIS, (the On-line Timetable Information System), is a live report feed of the Timetabling Office s database. The system is accessible to anyone with a staff log-in and allows you to view the timetable and other relevant information for the current and forthcoming academic sessions. Logging on to OTIS Go to the Timetabling Office webpage and follow the link to OTIS and click on the maroon button Open OTIS ( If you are asked to login, you must precede your login with UKC\ and then use your standard network login and password. For OTIS to work you must be connected via a network or via VPN (Virtual Private Network) first. Please see the Information Services webpage for more details about VPN Viewing timetables The initial OTIS display is shown below. In the top left corner is a dropdown box to select the academic year you wish to view. Pick from the list and press the View Report button top right to change which academic year is displayed and then click on View Report on the right-hand side of the screen. The year selected will remain the default until you change it or next log into the service. If the box is not visible, you can reveal the navigation bar by clicking on the small down arrow in grey or pale blue above the printer and refresh icons, indicated by the circle in the screen shot below. The display lists schools by department number and for each gives links to pages with details of nonmodular bookings, planning tools, modules, teaching staff and a link to the teaching associated with the login of the viewer. Updated 5/7/16 1

2 The Navigation Bar On the top of each window is the navigation bar. The navigation bar varies slightly depending on which page you are viewing but the main functions are the same: A B C D E F G H The navigation bar has several useful sets of controls: A- Year. This enables you to change the year. The default is the current Draft timetable. For the live timetable please consult SDS. B- Page forward/back longer lists of data are broken over multiple pages, these buttons allow you to move between them C- Find Enter text in the box and press Find to select the first instance in a page and Next for subsequent instances. NB This only works the page that is currently displayed D- Show/hide the parameter bar E- Exporting Exporting information from OTIS is covered in more detail later in this guide. F- Refresh The refresh button reloads the current page, reflecting any recent changes since it was loaded. G- Data feed This function is disabled. Please use export (item E in this list) to generate spreadsheets etc H- View Report The view report button must be clicked to refresh the view when changing the campus, years etc. Bookings The bookings page gives a list of non-modular bookings for that school, including the time and location, by whom it was booked, and any further details where these have been submitted to the Timetabling Office on booking. Planning Planning links to tools required during the year-long timetable planning process and is designed to facilitate the submission of information to the Timetabling Office. This is for use by the school timetable managers and other designated members of staff involved in planning the future timetable. Updated 5/7/16 2

3 Programme Level Planning shows the list of Programmes of Study (POS) associated with each school, including the number of students associated with that POS. Block 1 information needs to be checked and completed by the school timetable manager for submission to the Timetabling Office in mid-january each year. Block 2 information needs to be checked and completed by the school timetable manager for submission to the Timetabling Office by the end of February each year. Lecturer information constraints needs to be checked and submitted by the school timetable manager by the end of February each year. Module lists and grids shows a list or grid of all the modules associated with the relevant school. The grid also has the functionality to choose one or several modules from any school with or without subgroups, which can be useful as a planning tool. This is the same as the link to Modules on the main menu. Please see below for more information on this link. Module choice combinations lists all modules that students registered on one module are also registered on, with the numbers of students on each module. You may need to expand the parameter bar to change modules. Updated 5/7/16 3

4 Modules Following the modules link on the main menu gives a list of all modules for a school. At the top of the list are links for each of the campuses where the school teaches. Following one of these links will jump to the first report page for modules taught at that campus. Modules will only appear on this list if they have been ticked on module session running in SDS for the selected session and they have at least one event in the timetable. Please note, ticking module session running does not timetable the module or alert the Timetabling Office to the new module. You must tell the Timetabling Office that the module is running so that the appropriate action can be taken. The list includes the short form module code, the long form delivery code and module title, as well as the name of the convenor recorded by the Timetabling Office for that module, the date by which students will be allocated to groups (where the Timetabling Office undertakes this) and the numbers of registered and projected students for the module. If either of these last two numbers is zero the cell is highlighted in red for emphasis. Following the module link will list of all events for that module. These are broken down by student group and by event type (Lecture, Seminar, Assessment, etc). Below the list of events are the POS with which it is associated either as a compulsory or available module; quasi-compulsory or recommended modules are not included in these lists. The POS codes link back to the report screens for the programme as described above. Module List View shows all the events associated with that module in a list, including scheduled times, weeks, lecturer and equipment requests. The allocated room will appear here at appropriate times of the year. Module Grid View shows a table of the events associated with the module. Expanding the parameter bar by clicking on the small arrow as indicated below will allow the choosing of a module, a toggle of showing all events associated with that module or main group events only. You can also choose to view one term or two terms. This can be used, for example, to show any clashes for popular module choices. The grid view also enables you to look at the timetable of several modules at once which can be a very useful and powerful tool for planning. Updated 5/7/16 4

5 Tick the boxes of the modules you want to see, e.g. stage 1 MATHS:BSC and click on View Report. Staff The staff link on the main menu gives a list of a school s teaching staff, sorted by surname, as well their login, as recorded on the timetable database and any time constraints on their teaching. If a member of staff s login is not correct on the list the Timetabling Office should be informed, as this prevents their details passing to SDS and Moodle correctly. The list also includes two columns, Check clashes and Check constraints which are highlighted in red if there are any issues indicated on the timetable. Following the link on the lecturer s name brings up the list of timetable events for that member of staff; this can also be displayed as a grid. Below the list are the staff member s constraints, and lists of any events that either violate the constraints or which clash with other events. Exporting timetables from OTIS To export information from any OTIS report use the Select a format drop down box on the navigator bar to chose a file format (Excel is recommended) and press the export button. A download window will open, asking if you wish to open or save the file; open it, make any changes required, highlighting these with red text and using note columns where provided. Save the file and, if requesting changes, it to your timetable convenor to approve and submit to the Timetabling Office. Updated 5/7/16 5

6 Navigation map Updated 5/7/16 6