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SIS 2000+ Section Links Editor

The Section Links Editor application is found in the Scheduling Menu. It is used to link  course sections in the Master Schedule with one another. When scheduling students into a Master Schedule using the Student Loader or Walk In Scheduler, the links defined here will cause certain automatic functions to occur as follows:

When a student is successfully scheduled into a course section that has been defined as a "root",  the Loader or Walk In Scheduler will automatically schedule (or attempt to schedule) the student into the "child" course sections linked to that root, whether or not they have course requests for those child courses.

This procedure can be used to keep a group of students together in related course sections for the purpose of creating study groups. For example, if Biology/Sec.1 is specified as a root and Biology Lab/Sec.3 and Computer/Sec.5 are linked to that root, any students that are successfully scheduled in Biology/Sec.1 will be automatically scheduled for the other two course sections, barring any schedule conflicts. The net result is that this group of students will remain together as they move from class to class in the linked group.

However, automatic linking for an individual student is not guaranteed. It depends on whether or not the root course section and its child sections can be successfully scheduled by the Loader or Walk In Scheduler. Conflicts may arise in individual schedules. If a student is being scheduled to a section that is a root for a set of linked sections, it must be possible to schedule the student to every section in the set or the entire set will be left unscheduled - this means adhering to all of the constraints set in the Loader or Walk In Scheduler that may involve any of these sections. See Student Loader and Walk In Scheduler.

Prerequisites -

• The Master Schedule must be designed so that the available course sections for the target track have been defined. See Master Schedule Editor.
• Section linking always starts with courses that are defined as "roots". In order for a student to receive the benefits of section linking they must have course requests for the target root courses. See Course Request Editor.

1. Open Section Links Editor
From SIS 2000+'s Main Menu, open the Scheduling program module. From the Scheduling Menu, click on the Section Linking icon button.

                                Fig. 1
 

Screen Layout and Navigation
The top banner of the screen shows the currently selected Track, the Link Type, and Root. The white window is the work area for the currently selected link tree. The root of the current link tree is displayed in the Root field. To navigate to another link tree, select its root from the drop-down list.

A link tree may be a collection of connected groups or may be a single group. The primary group will be outlined in blue; any branching groups will be outlined in gray. The root course section of a link group is always at the top of the group and always in bold font. The child course sections are listed below in regular font.

Courses in the link tree are represented by course code and section number only, separated by a forward / slash. However, by clicking on a course code until it is highlighted in green, the details of the course section will be displayed in the gray field directly above the work area in the following format:

Course code/Section - Course Description, Faculty name [Faculty ID#].

The Sections list on the right shows all the course sections, in abbreviated format, that have been entered into the Master Schedule of the the current track. The course sections listed here will be the components for creating a link tree. The course code is followed by a slash/ and then the section number followed by the course description. Details for these courses can also be displayed in the detail field by selecting them with the mouse.
 
 

2.1 Select a track
Use the drop down list in the upper left to select the target track.

2.2 Add a Root
From the Sections list on the right, determine which course section will be the root. Use the vertical scroll bar to locate the target course section. Notice that when a entry is selected it will be highlighted in green and the details of that course section will be displayed in the detail section field directly above the work area. Use this information to confirm the selection.  With the mouse, drag and drop that course section on to any white zone in the work area (Fig. 2).  Be careful not to drop it on a currently displayed link group, if any.
 

If there are any predefined link trees in the selected track, one of them will always be showing in the work area. It does not matter if the work area is already displaying another link tree - whenever a unique course section is dropped in a white zone a new link tree is automatically started and the tree that was showing in the work area will disappear.

 

Fig. 2

As the main root of a new link tree is created, that course section gets simultaneously logged into the Root list at the upper right of the screen where it will be displayed as the current selection (Fig. 2).

Duplicate roots are not allowed.
 
 

2.1 Drag and drop
To add a course section to a root, select the target section from the list on the right. Use the vertical scroll bar to locate the target course section. Notice that when a entry is selected it will be highlighted in green and the details of that course section will be displayed in the section details field directly above the work area. Use this information to confirm the selection. Then use the mouse to drag and drop the selection on top of the root section in the work area (Fig. 3). The root section will turn light blue when the pointer is in the correct position for the drop. Be sure not to drop it on the white area, which would result in another root being created.

Fig. 3 - creating a child link

A successful child link operation will result in the added course section code to be displayed directly below the root (Fig. 4). The root of a link group will always be in bold font while the child sections will always be in regular font.
 

Fig. 4 - successful child link created

2.2 Repeat
Repeat Step 2.1 to add more child links to the root as needed. (During this process, child links may be deleted. See Step 5)
 

Fig. 5
 

In the sample of Fig. 5, a student who is scheduled in root course section 3060/1 will automatically be scheduled in course sections 3076/1, 3501/1, and 3520/4, even if the student has no course requests for the child courses, barring any conflicts. However, section linking for this link group will be ignored for students who have course requests for the child courses but no request for the root course.

 

2.3 Save or Undo
After a satisfactory link group is achieved, click on the Save command button to save the link tree. To undo editing of the current link tree, select a new track and answer "No" when prompted to save, or press Quit and say "No" when prompted to save.
 
 

3.1 Drag and drop
To create a branch from the current link tree, a new root must be dropped in the white zone of the work area. The new root must be the same as one of the child sections of the previous group. Select the target course section in the list on the right. Make sure it is exact same course section as the point in the previous group where a branch is to be made. Drag and drop the selection into the white zone of the work area (Fig. 6). A successful drop will create a branch by using the selected section as the beginning of another link group (Fig. 7).

Fig. 6 - branch is being created off of course section 3501/1
 
 

Caution!  In a branching procedure, the course section to be dragged & dropped must be the same as one of the child links in the parent group and it must be dropped into the white zone of the work area. If an attempt is made to drop it on top of the parent group it will be considered a duplicate record, an error message will occur, and the drop will be aborted. Furthermore, if the section being dropped in a white zone is not one of the child sections of the parent group, an entirely new link tree will be started automatically that will have no branching connection to the parent group.

 

Fig. 7 -  root of a new branch is created

3.2 Add child links
The root of a new branch will be the same as the branch point in the previous group (Fig. 7). Now add child course sections to the new group. To add a course section to a root, select the target section from the list on the right.  Then use the mouse to drag and drop the selection on top of the root for the new group (Fig. 8). The root section will turn light blue when the pointer is in the correct position for the drop. Be sure not to drop it on the white area, which would result in an entirely new link tree being created.

Fig. 8 - creating a child link for the new group

Fig. 9 - successful child link created

3.3 Repeat
Repeat Step 3.2 to add more child links to the new root as needed. (During this process, child links may be deleted. See Step 5). To add a branch to the branch just created, repeat Step 3.2.

Fig. 10
 
3.4 View results of branching
In the example of  Fig. 10, a student who is scheduled in root course section 3060/1 will automatically be scheduled in child course sections 3076/1, 3501/1, and 3520/4, whether or not they have course requests for those child courses. As this is happening they will link to the branching group (starting with 3501/1 as the root) and be scheduled in the all the sections of that group.

The new branch group that was created will stand on its own as a separate entity. It can be viewed separately in its own work area by selecting its root course section in the Root field in the upper right of the screen (Fig. 11).

Fig. 11 -  a branch group can be viewed as a separate entity

The new branch group also functions as a separate entity, independent of the parent group. This allows for students to be scheduled in its sections directly, without going through the parent group. Using the example of Fig. 11, any student who is successfully scheduled in the root 3501/1 will be scheduled in its child sections of 2010/2, 4535/1, and 4525/6, even if the student has no course requests for those child courses and even if they are not part of the higher level linking. (Section linking for this branch group will be ignored, however, for students who have course requests for the child courses but not for the root course; section linking only starts at the root.)
 

Automatic Branching -  In the previous steps a branch group was created off of a parent group by using the workspace of the parent group. After this branch group was constructed it was displayed as a subset of the parent group, indicated by a horizontal line connecting their common course sections. This is not the only way that branches are created. In fact, anytime a new link tree is created and its root is the same as a child section of another group, a branch connection will automatically be formed. The branching lines will be graphically visible in either their ascending or descending configurations depending on which Root is selected for viewing.

 
3.5 Save
After a satisfactory link group is achieved, click on the Save command button to save the link tree. To undo editing of the current link tree, select a new track and answer "No" when prompted to save, or press Quit and say "No" when prompted to save.
 
 

4.1 Automatic Termination of Circular references
If a new link creates a circular reference, i.e. the link points to a root course section at a higher level, the link displays a red background (Fig. 12). The red background signifies that the program has automatically terminated this link so that it will not jump back to reschedule itself in the link path. This is to prevent an endless loop from occurring.

Fig. 12  - circular reference terminated

If the student should happen to enter the branch link group independently, i.e., without going through the parent group, the terminated course section will still be scheduled but no further linking will continue from that point. For example, in the link tree of  Fig. 12, if a student enters the branch group via a course request for the root 3501/1, bypassing the higher level group with the root of 3060/1, when the Loader or Scheduler encounters the terminated course section 3060/1 in the branch group it will schedule 3060/1 once and stop there, i.e., it will not attempt to schedule the child sections under the 3060/1 root in the other group.

However, if the connection between the two link groups in a circular reference is severed via a user defined termination (Step 4.2) then the automatic termination will be cleared and the Loader will follow the link paths to their logical conclusion. For example, in Fig. 13, after the branch going from the 3060/1 group to the 3501/1 group has been removed, the 3060/1 link at the end of the 3501/1 group is no longer considered a circular reference. Now, when viewing the 3501/1 group as the current link tree, the red color will be gone from the 3060/1 link at the bottom, indicating that it is no longer a circular reference. If the 3060/1 group has not been deleted it now shows up as a branch off of the 3501/1 group (Fig. 13). This is a true case of  the tables being turned.

Fig. 13 - results of circular reference being removed

4.2 User defined termination

Based on the same theory outlined in Step 4.1, a user may terminate a child link so as to prevent the link path from continuing to a link group using the same course section as its root. In effect, this is telling the system that you do not want this child section to be a branch point to another link group that may exist or any link group that may be created in the future. However, this does not preclude branch points being made from other sections in the group.

4.2.1 Select termination point
Select the termination point by selecting a child course section in a link group until it is highlighted in green (Fig. 14).

Fig. 14 -  termination point selected in green

4.2.2 Terminate

Fig.  15

Click on the Trmnt command button. In the dialog box that appears (Fig. 15), answer "Yes" to confirm the termination or "No" to cancel.

4.2.3 View results

Fig. 16 -  user defined termination point outlined in red

The termination point will be outlined in red (Fig. 16). If there was another link group branching from the termination point (as in Fig. 14), that group will disappear from the work area, indicating that the branching connection has been removed. The branch group that was removed will still exist as a separate entity, however, and can be viewed as such by selecting its root in the Root field in the upper right of the screen. Even if there was no other group branching from the termination point, the termination point will prevent branching to a group that may be created in the future.
 
 

5.1 Delete a child section
In the work area of the target link tree, select a child course section to delete by clicking on it until it is highlighted in green. Then click on the Delete command button. In the dialog box that appears (Fig. 17), answer "Yes" to confirm the deletion or "No" to abort.

Fig. 17 - section 2750/4 selected for deletion

The section will be removed from the group (Fig. 18).

Fig. 18 - section 2750/4 successfully deleted

5.2 Delete a group
An entire link group can be deleted all at once. Select the root of the link group to delete by clicking on it until it is highlighted in green. Then click on the Delete command button. In the dialog box that appears (Fig. 19), answer "Yes" to confirm the deletion or "No" to abort.

Fig. 19 - group 4020/6 selected for deletion

Fig. 20  - group 4020/6 successfully deleted

When a group is deleted it will be removed from the work area along with any groups that were branching downward from it. The downward branching (child) groups are not actually deleted; they still can be viewed as separate entities by selecting their root section in the Root field in the upper right of the screen. Any upward branching (parent) groups that were visible before the deletion will remain visible after the deletion (Fig. 20).

5.3 Clear a User Defined Termination

User defined terminations can be deleted or "cleared" using the Trmnt command button as a toggle to turn terminations on or off. (An automatic termination for a circular reference cannot be cleared by toggling. They are only removed when the circular reference is removed. See Step 4.2.)

A course section that has been terminated by the user will appear in a red outline (Fig. 21).

Fig. 21 - user defined termination point

Select the termination point to be cleared until it is highlighted in green. Then click on the Trmn command button. In the dialog box that appears answer "Yes" to clear the termination or "No" to cancel (Fig. 22).

Fig. 22

The red outline from a terminated link will be removed when the termination is successfully cleared (Fig. 23).

Fig. 23

Once a termination point is cleared, any link group that has the corresponding course section as a root will automatically be connected to the parent group and be instantly displayed in the work area as a branched group (Fig. 24).

Fig. 24
 
 

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