PowerScheduler Constraints

[joshbromley]

I am trying to work with our data manager on building our master schedule for next year, and I'd like to know if the following is possible with constraints. We had had great success in years past dictating common planning periods using these tools. Here is what we'd like to do:

During a semester, if Course A is offered during 1st period, we want to make sure Course B is offered during a different period other than 1st.

For example, if students in a certain pathway need to take AP Seminar, but also need to take AP Statistics, how do we create/enable a constraint to be sure these aren't offered during the same period? I know it can be done manually after the fact, but I'd prefer to get out in front of it if possible, so we don't create a bunch of schedule holes when we move periods around afterward.

Thanks!

[KritiS]

Hi @joshbromley 

We recommend using the Pre-Schedule constraint for your requirement. For further assistance, we recommend reaching out to the Technical Contact of your district who should be able to access this link and assist you further.

[GregSatterwhite]

Personally, I would not preschedule the sections of these courses to get them at different times - it's too random. Keep in mind, if students are requesting two different courses they typically would not schedule at the same time based on student conflicts unless there were other factors that forced them to schedule at the same time.

The other thing to consider if AP courses are a priority for your school and you have several, you COULD run a build where only the AP courses were turned on for scheduling (schedule this course), run the build (and you have the best AP schedule possible without other courses being factored in), lock them in place and then turn on the other courses to finish the build. This should give you the best AP schedule possible.