A new binary model for university examination timetabling: a case study

Abstract

Examination timetabling problem (ETP) is one of the most important issues in universities. An improper timetable<br /> may result in students' dissatisfaction as it may not let them study enough between two sequential exams. In<br /> addition, the many exams to be scheduled, the large number of students who have taken different courses, the<br /> limited number of rooms, and some constraints such as no conflict in a single student's exams make it very difficult<br /> to schedule experimentally. A mathematical programming model is required to formulate such a sophisticated<br /> problem. In this paper, a new binary model is developed for ETP. The novelty of the paper can be discussed in two<br /> directions. The first one is that a course can be offered more than once in a semester. If a course is requested by a<br /> few students, then it is enough to be offered once. If the number of students requesting a course is more than the<br /> maximum number of students who are allowed to attend a single class, then the course is multi-offered. The<br /> second novelty is that sharing a room for two simultaneous exams is allowed. Also, the model considers some hard<br /> and soft constraints, and the objective function is set in such a way that soft constraints are satisfied as much as<br /> possible. Finally, the model is applied in a sample department and is solved by GAMS