SIMS Multiple Timetables

If you are importing into SIMS and using the SIMS Multiple Timetables / Multiple Licences feature, then this advice from ESS-SIMS is important:

Advice from ESS-SIMS:

-- 1) In order for a school using SIMS to be able to utilise the concept of multiple timetables, they need to buy a licence from us (ESS).  Failure to do so and apply it will mean that the school will not see the functionality in SIMS.

-- 2) There are no substantive changes to Nova-T to support Multiple Timetables, and so there are no changes required in TimeTabler either.   However you should be aware of the following as it will affect the advice you give to your customers:

      a). Once the Multiple Timetables licence has been applied, users no longer submit the timetable cycle into SIMS from the timetable program - instead they set it up in SIMS.net.   The cycle defined in SIMS.net consists of segments, each sharing the same number of days, but with variable (and separate) definitions of the periods.  It will of course still be necessary to set up the cycle in TimeTabler (to match one of these segments) in the usual way.   NB It is not critical that the names of the periods in the timetable program match the names used in SIMS.

      b). When the Timetable is submitted from Nova-T6 or TimeTabler, the Curriculum Matching Wizard tries to work out which segment the submission is for by looking at the "shape" of the timetable - in terms of the number and type of periods.    The format of the submission file has not changed at all.    If the Wizard cannot work out which segment is the correct one, the user is prompted to choose (and warned how critical this is!)

      c). The only new routine in Nova-T6 is a report which is able to load up two Nova-T6 timetables (one for each part of the school) and compare the lessons by attributes and period times, looking for teacher or room clashes. If the timetablers have agreed the sharing of these resources up front and stuck to their agreements, then the report should give a clean bill of health.

      d). It is envisaged that a school in which e.g. Nova-T6 is used in the Senior school and TimeTabler is used in the Junior school would be able to make use of the Multiple Timetables functionality and continue to use both programs in the same way as before.   However in this case the report described in c. above will not be available as it relies on both timetables being developed in Nova-T6.

-- 3) We would envisage that there is unlikely to be a need to change your timetable product in order to take advantage of the feature.  You would need to advise your customers if you have any additional licensing requirements if your software is used in this way.

Note: If you have any questions about this functionality when you come to export, please let us know, via our Support Centre.