Master scheduling guides for schools
Plain answers to the questions people ask while building a school master schedule.
Building the schedule
How to build a school master scheduleThe steps a school follows to build its master schedule, from course requests and sections to rules, the build, fixing what is left, and publishing to the SIS.
When to start next year’s master scheduleA month-by-month timeline for building next year’s master schedule, from course requests in winter to student schedules in August.
How to schedule singleton coursesWhat a singleton course is, why singletons cause most unplaced requests, and how to place them first so fewer students lose a course.
How to collect student course requestsHow schools collect course requests, ranked choices and alternates, and how to check them before the master schedule is built.
Block, rotating and drop schedules explainedThe common school schedule types (traditional, A/B block, 4x4, rotating and drop) and what each one means for building the master schedule.
Choosing a tool
School master scheduling software comparedHow the main ways to build a school master schedule compare: SIS scheduling modules, standalone timetabling tools, spreadsheets, a scheduling board, and nOS.
An alternative to PowerSchool schedulingWhy some PowerSchool schools build the master schedule outside the SIS, how nOS reads PowerSchool course requests, and how the finished schedule goes back.
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