An Automated Solution to Exam Scheduling at Østfold University College

Abstract

Exam scheduling in universities is often a complex and time-consuming task. At Østfold University College (HIOF), this task is currently performed manually. An exam coordinator must handle constraints such as ensuring at least three days between mandatory course exams and respecting pre-assigned dates from the Exam Office. This manual approach is prone to human error and can result in scheduling conflicts. To address this exam scheduling problem, we developed a user-friendly application paired with a greedy incremental algorithm. The proposed algorithm takes the schedule of last year as input and iteratively moves exams that violate constraints by one day per step. The algorithm is easy to implement and ensures that key constraints are met. On a computer with average specifications, our application produces a conflict-free schedule in seven milliseconds. Any remaining conflicts can be manually fixed through the spreadsheet. Furthermore, the algorithm is paired with a Java Swing framework to develop a user-friendly graphical user interface (GUI) for the application. In its current state, the application significantly reduces manual work, lowers the risk of human error, and brings HIOF to a near-fully automated exam scheduling process.