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Relationships and Linked Section

Overview

  • Relationships are used for defining time or room connections between sections.

  • It is very important to define Section Relationships prior to assigning meeting patterns and rooms, as relationships can impact your assignments.

  • This article explains types of linked sections you can set up in Academic Scheduling; how to manage them; and integration considerations.  

  • For Banner-specific instructions, go here. 

Types of Linked Sections

  • Linked sections are for defining time and room relationships between sections.

  • For example, two sections can have a non-overlapping relationship which means they cannot be scheduled during overlapping meeting times.

  • The below table breaks down all of the different types of linked sections.

Linked Section Type

Definition

Example

Same Day

This relationship links sections together by day and issues a warning if a different meeting day violates the relationship.

A-State wants to ensure all Writing Across the Curriculum courses meet on the same day to ensure optimal participation at the end of term event featuring an all-day conference.

 

Same Time

 

 

 

This relationship links sections together by time and issues a warning if a different meeting time violates the relationship.

A-State y wants to ensure all sections of Food Prep Practicum I meet at the same time (regardless of the day) to ensure students can observe and serve in the Dining Hall.

 

Same Room

 

  • This relationship links sections together so they appear in the same room and issues a warning if a different room violates the relationship.

  • This relationship causes all double-booked instructors and room conflicts between the sections to be ignored.

A-State wants to make sure all sections of Human Anatomy are meeting in the same room because there is only 1 facility for the Cadaver Lab.

 

Same Time Same Day

 

 

This relationship links sections together so they appear at the same time on the same day and issues a warning if a different meeting pattern violates the relationship.

A-State has multiple sections each term that participate in a bi-annual Global Issues Conference. Each section's students must present their cases during the conference and having these courses meet at the same time and the same day will ensure optimal participation in the program.

 

Same Time Different Day

 

 

This relationship links sections together so they appear at the same time on different days and issues a warning if a meeting pattern change violates the relationship.

A-State offers a cohort with a local business that offers college credit courses during lunch hours. This relationship allows the flexibility for room and day assignments but keeps the classes during set hours.

 

Same Time Same Day Same Room 

 

 

  • This relationship links sections together so they appear at the same time on the same day in the same room and issues a warning if a different meeting pattern violates the relationship

  • This relationship causes all double-booked instructors and room conflicts between the sections to be ignored.

A-State refers to sections with this relationship as "Cross-Listing." Sections with this relationship typically have students register for different sections but they share a room and instructor.

 

Same Time Different Day Same Room

 

 

This relationship links sections together so they appear at the same time on different days but in the same room and issues a warning if a meeting pattern change violates the relationship.

A-State offers Hy-Flex courses where there are live, online components as well as in-person sessions. This relationship helps preserve a sense of balance in using the physical space so that the meeting pattern is preserved and the room remains utilized.

Different Time

 

 

This relationship links sections together so they must have different meeting patterns to prevent time overlap. Coursedog issues a warning if a meeting pattern change violates the relationship.

 

A-State uses this relationship to link sections in the Accounting major from overlapping times during the week.

Different Day

 

 

This relationship links sections together so they must have different meeting days to prevent day overlap. Coursedog issues a warning if a meeting pattern change violates the relationship.

A-State uses the Different Day relationship to ensure doctoral programs in Education do not meet the same days as the undergrad cohorts, ensuring they have enough faculty capacity during the week.

 

Non-Overlapping

 

 

This relationship prevents linked sections from being offered on the same days at the same time. 

 

Note that the non-overlapping relationship does not take the start and end date of the sections into account. If, for example, there is a non-overlapping relationship between two sections with start and end dates that do not overlap, however their meeting patterns overlap, the sections will be flagged as violating the non-overlapping relationship.

A-State offers a business cohort program and all students must take a prescribed sequence of courses. The Non-Overlapping relationship ensures these classes are never overlapping so this group of students is certain to get the classes they need to graduate on time.

Different Time Different Day

 

 

This relationship links sections together so they must have different meeting patterns to prevent time AND day overlap. Coursedog issues a warning if a meeting pattern change violates the relationship.

A-State uses the Different Time, Different Day relationship to help balance courses in the Nutrition Science Major to help students find more space for major courses.

 

Different Room

This is for sections that must meet in different rooms.

A-State uses the “Different Room” relationship to offer rooms in various campus locations.
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