Current Year Scheduling

Current Year Scheduling

Overview Building a Course Master Adding a Course

Adding a Section

Adding a Meeting Pattern

Overview

The Current Year (CY) Scheduling module is part of the Student Management Core modules

and is used to maintain an entity’s course offerings for students, and also maintain

students’ enrollments in those courses during the current school year. Some entities may

choose to use the more robust features for building course masters and scheduling students

through the Future Scheduling module, but eventually even those entities will have to

update students’ records through the CY Scheduling module.

It is used to add and remove students from courses in any entity and having the ability to

report on that information.

CY Scheduling can be found by navigating under Student Management>Office>Current

Scheduling. Be sure that you are working from a specific entity, as there is very limited

access to the module while working from the district (000) entity.

Building a Course Master Adding a Course

Adding a Section


The Course Master is the area where the courses for the entity are created and maintained.

This includes section or class information that defines the time of the year the course is

offered, and the meeting pattern of the class that defines what period(s) the class is offered

and what teacher is associated with that class.

To get to the Course Master, navigate under Student Management>Office>Current

Scheduling>Build Course Master>Course Master.

Next to the screen title (Course Master), you can see the school year of the Course Master

you are viewing. If this does not display the correct year, you may need to contact your

Skyward Administrator to confirm the school year set on the entity, or click the Switch

School Year button on the right side.

Adding a Course

You will need to click the Add Course button from the Course Master screen to begin

creating a new course.

When creating a course, section or meeting pattern, you do not need to have a value in

every field unless it is flagged with an * denoting that it is a required field.

The Entity and School Year for the course being added appears at the very top of the screen

for you to verify where the course will be stored.

Curriculum – Use this field to attach this course to a ‘district level’ course. The ‘district

level’ courses or curriculum records are used to be able to track student academic history

through the district through the Curriculum Mapping and Grad Requirements modules. It is

also becoming very common for curriculum records to be used and sometimes even

required for state reporting purposes.

Course Key – Enter the appropriate entity defined ID or code for the course in this field. It

can be alpha-numerical, and may contain special characters as well.

Short Description – Use this field to enter a 15 character description of the course. This

field is used for scheduling and grading reports; it may be used with report cards, and

transcripts.

Long Description – Use this field to enter a 30 character description of the course. This

field is also used for scheduling and grading reports; it may be used with report cards, and

transcripts.

General Properties

Course Length Set – Select the appropriate district defined code. These define the

length of the school year the course will be taught. These are set up under either

Build Course Master Codes, or in the Grading Configuration.

Grade Set – This field is tied to the Course Length Set. To change this, the Course

Length must be changed. The Grade Set defines how many grades will be available

for the courses tied to it.

Course Status – This field can be used to indicate if a course will be offered

(Active), or will not be offered (Inactive) for the school year. This is very helpful for

courses that are offered biannually so that they do not have to be recreated every

other year.

Elective/Required – This field is used for the automatic scheduling processes which

will schedule required courses before elective ones, with the possible exception of a

single section course.

Category – Select the most appropriate category of the course.

Regular – Most classes will be marked as this. If none of the other options fit,

select this value.

Lunch – If your entity schedules students into a course for their Lunch time,

then select this value for those courses.

Study Hall – If students are scheduled into courses when they have no other

class scheduled, you can attach this value to those courses. The Study

Hall Scheduler utility will use this flag to update student’s schedules.

Transfer – Select this value for courses that are added to student’s grade

history for courses that are taken out of the district. This option attached

to a course will allow the user to change the description of it when adding

to a student’s grade history.

Waiver – This category is used with the Grad Requirements module to waive a

student’s required course.

Schedule Type – This field is used to tell the software how student requests for the

course should be handled during a scheduling run or when using the Walk-in

Scheduler. Manually Scheduled and Special Education courses will only allow

students to be scheduled into the courses manually. Dropped Course should be used

if a course will no longer be offered. A report can then be run to see what students

requested the dropped courses, so they can have their requests updated.

Scheduling Priority – This field can be used to set a priority on a course when the

system is building students’ schedules. The higher a priority, the earlier in the run

the course will be scheduled for the student.

Grading System – This field is used for internal reporting purposes only. The value

of this field will not change any functionality for the course or its gradebook. It can

be pulled on to some reports for organizational purposes only. Select the value that

best fits the course.

Grading Type – This field is used for internal reporting purposes only. The value of

this field will not change any functionality for the course, or its gradebook. It can be

pulled on to some reports for organizational purposes only. Select the value that best

fits the course.

Transcript GLO – This field is used to override the grade the student is in when

they took this course when the record is pulled onto a transcript. Instead of a course

taken by a middle school student for high school credit showing as being completed

in 8th Grade, this field can change it so that the course appears it was taken during

9th Grade (if the Transcript GLO is 9).

Website Address – A URL can be entered in this field to show as a link from the

Course in Family/Student Access.

Website Display – Text can be entered for this field to display as hyperlinked text

that guardians or students would click on to access the Website Address in the field

above.

GPA Set [#] – There will be one line of this field for each GPA Method that has been

created in the entity. For each Method, enter the appropriate GPA Set that should be

used to determine the point scale used in calculating this course into a student’s

GPA.

GPA Credits [#] – There will be one line of this field for each GPA Method that has

been created in the entity as well. Each Method will need the number of credits to

use in calculating the course into the students’ GPAs.

Control Sets Possible – Based on the Course Length selected, this field will display

all of the Control Sets tied it.

Subject – These codes are district defined, and can be used to group courses

together for some settings, reports, and even transcripts.

Type – These codes are district defined and used as another way to group courses

together for reporting purposes. Common codes used include Regular, Special

Education, and Vocational Education.

Department – These codes are also district defined and are used as another way to

group courses together. Typically these codes may be similar to Subjects, but are

more broad than that

Activity Link – You can use this field to connect this course to an activity. When an

Activity is entered here, and the ‘Automatically Add Students to the Activities that

are Linked to a Course’ is selected in the configuration, then a process will enroll

students scheduled into the class into the activity.

Report Card – This field is usually used for an entity that has semesterized

schedules (courses that last all year are split into two separate ones in the course

master for more flexible scheduling for students). This allows you to link those

separate classes so that when they pull on the Report Card, they will pull as one

class instead of two separate ones.

Lock Group – This field allows two or more semester courses to be scheduled into

separate semesters, or keeps courses from being scheduled at the same time. This is

mainly used for Future Scheduling.

Current Requests – This will display the total number of requests that have been

entered for this course. This is helpful when working through the Future Scheduling

Process.

Maximum Seats Available – This will display the total number of seats available

based on the combined maximum class sizes entered on the course’s sections. This

is helpful when building the master schedule in Future Scheduling.

Estimated Nbr of Sections – This field is used for Future Scheduling purposes. A

utility can be used to update the field based on the number of entered requests.

Actual Nbr of Sections – This will display the total number of sections that are

attached to the course, and is helpful for Future Scheduling.

Grade Ranges – You can enter the low and high grade levels of students that could

be enrolled in this course. This will limit the courses available for request entry

through the Walk-In Scheduler and Future Scheduling for a student.

Fees – You can enter the amount of a fee, if any, for a student taking the course.

This field is not tied to the Fee Management module, but can be pulled on some

scheduling reports.

Academic Hours – This field can be used as an alternate way to track the amount

of courses a student is enrolled in instead of tracking the earned credits. This could

be used by elementary or middle schools that do not track credits.

Earned Credits – Enter the number of credits awarded to the student after

completing the requirements of the course. This value is not used in the calculation

of a student’s GPA.

Core Academic Subject – Check this box if the course is part of the district’s core

academic subjects.

Grade Course – Check this box if the course should have grades collected.

Keep Attendance – Check this box if the course will be available for keeping

attendance through Educator Access+.

Repeatable for Credit – Check this box if a student can take the course any

number of times and continuously receive earned credit for it. This is often used for

courses like band or choir. A report can be used to verify students requesting

courses they have passed, and are not marked as repeatable for credit.

Locked to Scheduler – Check this box if the course should not have students either

scheduled or unscheduled in this course through the respective scheduling utilities. It

will prevent any modification from happening to students regarding this course.

Allow Teacher Conferences – Check this box if conferences can be scheduled for

this course.

Default Course for Career Plan - The Default Course for Career Plan box is

designed for districts that have multiple courses attached to a single Curriculum

Master record. With this box checked, it will default the course as the course to be

completed for the career plan.

Qualifications – These can be added to the course so that the Advanced Master

Builder process in Future Scheduling will look at staff qualification records to

determine which ones could be assigned as a teacher of the course.

Course Groups – These codes are district defined and can be added to courses to

pull special indicators when they print on students’ transcripts.

Section Defaults – The fields here can be filled out so that when adding new sections to

the course, these fields would be pre-filled with the specified values.

State Specific – Each state may have their own fields used for state reporting purposes. It

is up to you to verify that they are filled out correctly.

Once all the data on the course has been entered and verified, click the Save button to

continue. If you plan on creating a section immediately you can click the Save and Add

Section button.

Adding a Section

If a section needs to be added after the course has been saved, expand the course and then

click the Add Section link next to Section Details.

If you clicked the Save and Add Section button from the course screen, your section

maintenance screen should already be showing.

Sections may be referred to in other areas of the software as a class. So remember that

class = section of a course.

The entity, school year, course, and request information will all display at the top of the Add

Section screen for you to verify you are working with the correct record.

Section – You can enter the ID value of the section. This can be a three character alpha-

numeric value. It is best to use leading zeros if you think you might use numbers 1-10 (or

higher). This will keep the sections listed in the correct ascending order.

General Properties

Class Status – This field can be used to prevent students from being scheduled into

a section of a course if it was previously needed but no longer is by setting it to

‘Inactive’. It is possible to just delete the unneeded section as well.

Class Control Set – This value identifies when during the school year the course will

be offered. The options available here depend on the setup of the Course Length that

is attached to the course.

Calendar – Select the appropriate calendar that identifies the days that this course

will need to have attendance taken.

Scheduling Team – If your entity is using team scheduling, you can select the team

that this section should be used with.

Bell Schedule – Enter the code for the Bell Schedule that represents the times that

this section will typically follow.

Bilingual – If the class is taught bilingually, this option should be selected. Some

state reports will pull from this field.

Use Class Meeting Time Override – When this option is checked, a separate time

can be entered on the meeting pattern for when the course should actually meet.

Default Building – Enter the building that will house this class. This will fill in on the

meeting pattern when created.

Minimum Students – Enter the minimum number of student to offer the class.

Optimum Students – Enter the ideal number of students for the class.

Maximum Students – Enter the maximum number of students that can be enrolled

in this one section of the class.

Attendance Method – Select the method of attendance entry that will be used for

the class. Attendance can always be entered through the Student Profile or

Office>Attendance no matter what option is selected.

Computer – Allows entry through Educator Access Plus (EA+).

Sheets – Allows entry through scan sheets only.

Mixed – Allows entry through both EA+ and scan sheets.

Assign Seats – This option used to need to be checked to allow teacher the ability

to create a seating chart for the class in EA+. However, it no longer has any control

over the seating chart functionality.

Rows/Columns – Enter the default number of rows and columns for the teacher of

the section to see when they work with the seating chart. They will have the ability

to override these values.

Grading Method – Select the method of grading entry that will be used for the

class. Grading can always be entered through the Student Profile or Office>Grading

no matter what option is selected.

Computer – Allows entry through Educator Access Plus (EA+).

Sheets – Allows entry through scan sheets only.

Mixed – Allows entry through both EA+ and scan sheets.

Room Type – Select the appropriate type of room that the course can be held in.

This is used during Future Scheduling processes.



Once all the data on the section has been entered and verified, click the Save button to

continue. If you plan on creating a meeting pattern immediately you can click the Save and

Add Meet button.

Additional sections can be added to a course as needed, and at any time. To do this, click

the Add Section link next to the Section Details area of the expanded course.


Meeting Patterns (or Meets) are used to indicate when a class will be offered, and what

teacher will be teaching it for the different terms. Meets also provide teachers with access to

the class information through EA+, and so additional meets may be used to attach other

staff to the class as well. These people could include long-term substitute teachers, student

teachers/interns, support staff that need to take attendance, and even other teachers in

team teaching situations.

Additional Meets may be added when a class meets for more than one period in a day (i.e.

in a block schedule), or in cases where attendance is entered for a class once during the day

and it needs to automatically fill in additional periods as well (i.e. elementary schools that

take attendance in the morning and they want it to fill in the afternoon period as well).

If a meet needs to be added after the section has been saved, expand the course and then

click the Add Meet link on the line of the section it will be attached to.

If you clicked the Save and Add Meet button from the section screen, your meeting pattern

maintenance screen should already be showing.

The entity, course, and section information will display at the top of the screen for you to

verify that the meet you are creating is for the correct class.

Start and Stop Terms

Display Term Start/Stop – Enter the terms that the class will display on reports as

meeting. One of the only times this would be lower than the full length of the class

would be if there were different teachers teaching one term to the next. In this case

there would be more than one meet attached to the section.

Scheduling Term Start/Stop – Enter the terms that the class will take up in the

student’s schedule. One of the only times this would be lower than the full length of

the class would be if there were different teachers teaching one term to the next. In

this case there would be more than one meet attached to the section.

Usually the Display and Scheduling Terms will match each other.

Meet Pattern

Display Period – Enter the period of the day that this class will display on students’

schedules.

Display – Select the days or rotation days that the class will display as meeting on

the students’ schedules.

Scheduling Period – Enter the period of the day that this class will be scheduled for

students.

Scheduling – Select the days or rotation days that the class will be scheduled for

students.

Attendance Period – Enter the period of the day that this class will have its

attendance recorded into.

Attendance – Select the days or rotation days that the class’s attendance can be

kept.

Lunch Code – Select the lunch code that will be associated with the class meet. The code

will show on the student’s schedule.

Building – Select the code of the building that the class will be held in.

Room – Select the room that the class will be held in. The rooms available will depend on

the Building code selected.

Teacher – Enter the Namekey of the teacher of the class. Verify that you have selected the

correct one in case there happens to be duplicate names.

Teacher Type – Select the teacher type for the teacher entered on the meet. There must

be one Primary Teacher for each term, and there cannot be more than one. There is no limit

to the number of Alternate Teachers for a class.

Display this Class Meet on Student Schedules – Check this option if the details from

this meet should be showing on a student’s printed schedule. This should be unchecked in

cases where an alternate teacher does not need to show on the printed schedule (student

teachers, support staff, etc…)

Allow Access to EA+ – This option should be checked if the teacher on the meet should

see the course in EA+. For any meet with a primary teacher, this will automatically be

checked.

Allow Access to Gradebook – This option should be checked if the teacher on the meet

should be able to get into the Gradebook of the course in EA+. For any meet with a primary

teacher, this will automatically be checked. Typically this would be unchecked for a meet

that the teacher only needs access to take attendance or view the students of a course in

EA+, but has no responsibilities with the gradebook (i.e. support staff).

Class Meeting Time Override – Enter the class start and stop times if the option Use

Class Meeting Time Override was checked on the section. This field could be used when

tracking attendance by minutes and is not common.

Class Meet Type – This field is for reporting purposes only, but may have an effect on

some state reports. Select the option that best fits the type of meet of this class.



Once all the data on the section has been entered and verified, click the Save button to

continue. Additional meets can be added to the sections as needed, and at any time. To do

this, click the Add Meet link on the line of the section it needs to be added to.

Documents

Current Year Scheduling