A university course timetabling problem

This paper addresses a university course timetabling problem. The problem as experienced at Unibo is formulated in such a way that simple heuristics can be used to achieve the objective of finding either an ‘optimal’ or a feasible practical solution. The problem is divided into three phases, namely, grouping of courses into course groups, allocation of lecture rooms to courses within groups, and finally, scheduling of periods to course groups. Heuristic algorithms are proposed to solve this problem. The computerised algorithms which have been integrated into Unibo’s Student Management System are fully implemented.