A 0-1 integer programming approach to a university timetabling problem

Abstract

One of the major problems with course scheduling - a particular type of timetabling - is the difficulty that arises when trying to suitably co-ordinate lectures, students and classrooms according to a set of op- erational rules within a framework of certain constraints. The assign- ment of courses and lectures to periods and classrooms is an important administrative task that must be performed each term. The primary purpose of this paper is to solve an existing course scheduling prob- lem. Organizing courses and lectures according to periods and avail- ability of classrooms is a difficult course scheduling problem, which we are currently experiencing within the Department of Statistics at Gazi University. We have therefore formulated the problem as a 0-1 inte- ger programming model. The aim of this model is to minimize the dissatisfaction of students and lecturers whilst at the same time imple- menting rules bounded by a set of constraints. The model produced has flexibility in terms of embracing new rules and/or criteria.