Academic Suite - Creating the Database - Part 2

Queries that must be be run before importing the courses, they can be run by anyone with query access. The queries can be run throughout the entering of prior term copies to save you from having to a monster clean up, but they all must be run after the prior term copies have been entered and checked.

Adding the Courses to the Data Base 

Quest Clean-up for importing Courses 

Log into Quest as SCHDPROC 

Run scheduling queries related to course cleanup: 

UW_RS_SOC_ORGS_GROUPS_NP  – If you get results you must do a course roll (Curriculum Management -> Roll Curriculum Data Forward -> Course Roll) that should fix them! Well apparently not always, if the Acad Org has changed, that you can make a manual change on the Basic Data Panel under maintain Schedule of Classes (this is usually found and fixed after running this tedious query: UW_RS_CATLG_ORGS_GROUPS_NP and systems has time to fix it)

Run query to look for missing RC weights (UW_RS_MISS_RC_IN_RCWGHT_TBL_NP) if there were some that needed to be added re-run: UW_RS_RESERVE_CAP_ORDER_NP to catch any changes. 

Ensure Scheduling has updated all course changes 

Quest work:

  • Waterloo Student Admin > CEM > Process > Course Scheduling Anomaly Report 

    • Enter in the term you about to run – run it twice once for GRD and once for UG, and the server name is SISP1

    • Once it’s finished running and the status is “Success” and “Posted” in the Process monitor click “Details” then “View/Log Trace” then the “.out” file 

  • fix in Quest if required (there’s no courses imported yet in Timetabler, so there’s nothing to fix there)

image-20240328-144954.png
Example of results from the report

To “fix” them check in Quest to see if the associated class number can all be 1 for UW courses, and 81 for the CEL sections. Currently most cannot be corrected unless a new way to code has been created to resolve the issue that sectioner is having.

 

Navigate to: 

Waterloo Student Admin > Scheduling >Processes > Timetabler Extract

  • run control: timetabler_extract 

  • Upcoming term gets entered and previous like term 

  • Evening start time is 4:00PM (16:00)

  • filepath: /software/sa.sisp-1.0_prod/spool/outgoing/DCU/ 

    • When running in a test environment “/software/sa.sisp-1.0_dev/spool/outgoing/DCU/” 

  • Run the PS Job (UWTPINTT) 

  • The order the processes run are:  

    • UWTPINEX = Timetabler Course Extract 

    • UWTPINSE = timetabler extract setup - set up files 

    • UWTPINST = Timetabler Extract Student - we don't use students - but it might contain programs 

    • UWTPINCP - Timetabler extract conversion 

When the Timetabler Extract process has completed, navigate to  

  • Q: > k2 > PROD > outgoing

    • Test would be “Q:\ozark\dev\outgoing” 

  • Should save a copy of the DCU folder on the M drive "M:\Timetabler\Import" (it should have todays date and replace the last DCU folder) 

Timetabler work:

In Infosilem Timetabler navigate to Import. File -> Import on the database that you are creating. Make sure the "Select File Type(s) are Space-delimited (TXT) 

The Delete records from Academic Suite if they are not found in the source file should be Checked (differential). Select Next 

Select Clear and then select the following file:  Courses

Select Next  

Click “Browse” and point to DCU folder on the local machine drive. Then click “Next” 

Check the Report for any problems.  

 

If everything is ok, select Next, check the rejected records on this next report. 

If everything is ok, click Next. 

 Keep the Backup option selected (because why not) and select Import

  • the first report is checking the format (is it space delimited?) 

  • the next report is checking the content (the hierarchy of the faculty, department all that jazz) 

In the Course characteristics file (crschar.txt) in the DCU folder remove all the reserves that are brought in and DE, DIST, EVE, NEVE, OC, RESALL, SPACE , UAE – this will save you from manually removing them within Timetabler later (M:\Timetabler\Import\DCU)

In Infosilem Timetabler navigate to Import. File -> Import. Make sure the "Select File Type(s)” are Space-delimited (TXT). 

The Keep in Infosilem Academic Suite records that do not exist in the source files (Do not delete) is checked. Then click “Next” 

 Select Clear and select the following files:  18 of them 

  • Component Types 

  • Components 

  • Components - Course Characteristics 

  • Course Characteristics 

  • Course Sections 

  • Deliveries 

  • Delivery Times 

  • Group Constraints 

  • Groups 

  • Groups - Components 

  • Location Specs 

  • Pattern Requests 

  • Professors 

  • Professors Deliveries 

  • Sectioning Combinations 

  • Sectioning Combinations-Components 

  • Subjects 

  • Terms 

Infosilem advised us to not download room types, pavilions, campus so if there are any new rooms etc we know we need to add alternates etc because it will come out as an error.

Click on Next and Browse and point to DCU folder on server. Click on Set All and Same Folder as Selected then select Next. 

 

The “open Rejected Records Report” will have some errors these are courses with time/days on their deliveries and it’s telling you the “dates” are incorrect – but we delete anything in the database with days/times/rooms on it. We clean it up later and is okay to ignore.

 

 You will get rejects here. Open up the “source”.txt file on the M drive and see if you can plainly see what's missing (say a start date) if it's a forced pattern move on. otherwise dig further and check that the files were pointing to the correct ones. Timereq was pointing to Delivtimes - but I think I clicked it incorrectly - so pay attention and don't do that!

 

Timereq errors - these are forced times and dates that no longer are in the system

  • Forced pattern times don't come in - you could enter the dates - but also just not do that no big deal. 

LocSpec errors - the building either has changed or didn’t get attached correctly - this is again fine as we delete everything with a room attached anyways

CompChar - these are the course characteristics - we deleted them above, so it makes sense that we have errors for it!

 

 

 

In the Timetabler database use “Tools” then “RollOver” then “Delete…” and “Advanced” to “Select a data element:” then select “Deliveries”: 

  • any deliveries associated with a TST slot 

  • Keep fully white, and Red top/White bottom (anything green must go!)

  • any deliveries with no time or no room request (Status red top/bottom) 

  • any deliveries with a room request and no time (white top/red bottom)

  • Getting rid of any deliveries that have forced times and/or rooms.

    • any deliveries with forced room and no time (green top red bottom) 

    • any deliveries with forced room and time request (green top white bottom)

    • any deliveries with a forced time (Status has a green bottom) 

    • any deliveries with forced room and time (complete green)

  • Run the Data Consistency Check of “Deliveries having room requests without specified Pavilion“ and batch edit all deliveries to remove the room requests that are blank (these are mostly WLU room requests, if they weren’t already removed by the white top/red bottom roll over delete)

In the new term (Secondary Files → Terms) change the start and end dates to the actual first and last day of the term. 

Must change blockoff dates and remove all instructors from any blockoffs that aren't their names only

Make sure Instructors do not have any constraints overridden (checkbox) 

Ensure that all the correct course characteristics are assigned from the Campus field in Quest. Sometimes we have issues with UTD not attaching correctly, or BLNDR. Run a schedule of classes query in Quest, and compare it to the myview of “Components with Characteristics” and correct any that don’t match in timetabler.

Run the MyView of “Deliv Meth w Crs Char” and attach the delivery method that makes sense. If it’s ONLN with a time attach the delivery method of “Synchronous online” main campus' attach “in class”, ect. BLND is weird, so just make a judgement call!

Reactive all held withs within the DCU for the reps

Tools → Scheduling Groups Activation → Component Groups

After activating you will likely get this error message:

To fix them open the component group, select the components tab, select all courses and open them.

Select their Deliveries tabs. Sometimes one has a delivery and other other is missing the delivery. Since the DCU is still closed, you can either copy over the one delivery to the other course, or delete the one delivery. As long as they match. Once they do, head back to the Scheduling Groups Activation tool, and save that component group:

DCU Admin Setup 

The procedure is called Academic Suite - Opening DCU and Message Board Examples 

https://isacadweb.nexus.uwaterloo.ca/DCU/Admin/