Answering the data collection form in Optime

You will be able to answer a data collection form once a timetabler officer (typically a planning officer) creates a form and chooses you as one of the recipients. You’ll receive an email about the form. The email is sent in the language the timetabler officer has used, but you can change the language of the form on the front page of Optime. Optime can be used in Finnish, Swedish and English.

In case you haven’t answered the questions by the deadline, the timetabler officer might send you a reminder email via Optime.

If you know that you won’t be teaching at all in the next academic year, you can ignore the form.

In case you receive multiple forms, it’s adequate that you answer one.

If you don’t receive a form, but want to report some obstacles regarding teaching times or facilities, or some preferred teaching hours, please send a message to the service address of the timetabler officers. You can find the addresses on the page Teaching programmes.

Start answering by clicking on the link in the email you received, which takes you directly to the form.

You can also access the questionnaire on Optime’s front page where you can find the relevant notification.

In both cases you need to log in to Optime with your University username and password.

You can see who created the form on the Optime homepage and in the questionnaire. If you have any questions, you can contact this person or the service address of the timetabler officers (you can find the addresses on the page Teaching programmes).

The purpose of the standard questions in the questionnaire is to collect information about the dates and times when you are unavailable to teach, the times that you’d prefer for your teaching, and the rooms that are not suitable for your teaching. Your timetabler officer may also choose to include their own custom free-form questions.

Please note that the obstacles and preferences you report on the form concern all your teaching at the university, including teaching in doctoral programmes and open university teaching. If you have needs relating to the schedule or rooms of a specific course, please report them in the questionnaire for course-specific information (in Finnish, opetusohjelmakysely, more information on the page Teaching programmes) or by contacting the service address of the timetabler officers (you can find the addresses on the page Teaching programmes).

Before you can send the form back to the timetabler officer, you must answer all the questions. However, you can select the answer “I have no preferences” to the questions that aren’t relevant to you.

1. Not available to teach

Here you can tell the timetabler officers which dates, date ranges, times or days of the week are not suitable at all for any of your teaching. Only unsuitable times on weekdays between 8:00 and 20:00 need to be entered. Possible reasons for being unavailable for teaching include: 

• a regular time slot for research work 
• regular meetings related to administrative tasks and elected positions (e.g. the faculty council or the degree programme steering group) 
• part-time work or other unusual working hour arrangement 
• family-related reasons (such as childcare arrangements or exceptionally long commute) 
• a conference trip, a field trip or other non-recurring work-related obstacles 
• time off corresponding to vacation 

Please note that teaching is primarily organised between 8:00/9:00 (depending on the campus) and 16:00, but it is also possible to schedule the teaching between 16:00 and 20:00 if necessary (e.g. to ensure that mandatory courses do not overlap for students, or if facilities are not available) or if it is specifically requested (e.g. to offer the students the opportunity of taking classes in the evening, or if the teacher has requested an evening slot for a specific course).

If you have no obstacles, select “I have no preferences”.

If you do have obstacles, proceed as follows:

1. Click the blue Add button and the selection window opens.

   
    

2. Add the times that are not suitable for you.

   You can enter either singular dates or date ranges, days of the week (Saturday and Sunday are automatically excluded) or times of the day (mornings before 8am or evenings after 20:00 are automatically excluded). Combinations (e.g. Mondays 8:00-12:00) are also possible as long as they are logical and not contradictory, like Mon 17.2.–Thu 20.2. together with Fridays (as that date range doesn’t include a Friday). When given such combinations, the programme warns about the impossible combination. You could, however, create a combination that combines 17.2.–20.2. with times 8:00-12:00, which would mean that on those days you cannot teach in the mornings but the afternoons are okay. Please note that only unsuitable times on weekdays between (8:00 and 20:00 need be entered.

   

   You can also add multiple selections by returning to the view. You can, for example, first enter the date range (e.g. 12.11.–15.11.), click the Add button on the window, open the window again by clicking the Add button on the main page, and then enter the teaching time (e.g. 18.00–20.00).

   You can edit or remove your selections using the icons on the right-hand side of the selections.

   

   If you wish, you can include more information in the free-text field at the bottom of the page. Please note that you don’t need to report the reasons for your unavailability.

3. Click the Save progress button once you have entered all the necessary times.

2. Preferred teaching times

Here you can indicate the times of the week at which you would most prefer your teaching to be held. Please also note that teaching can’t always be scheduled for the preferred times, as the students’ schedules and availability of facilities also affect timetabling. If you have specific times when you are absolutely unavailable to teach, please report them under question #1 (see above).

If you have no special wishes, select “I have no preferences”.

If you do have wishes, proceed as follows:

1. Click on the calendar to add a preferred time.

   
    

2. You can drag and resize the times as needed.
3. You can remove selections by clicking on them.
4. If you wish, you can include additional information in the free-text field at the bottom of the page.
5. Click the Save progress button once you have entered all the necessary times.

3. Undesirable rooms

Here you can tell the timetabler officer the rooms in which you can’t teach. Please report only the rooms within the campus/campuses that are relevant to your teaching.

If any room is suitable for teaching, select “I have no preferences”.

If you do have rooms to report, proceed as follows:

1. Find the room in the Rooms field.

   
    

2. You can limit the search by first choosing a site (i.e. campus) and/or a building.
3. Click Add to add the room to the list.
4. If you wish, you can provide additional information in the free-text field at the bottom of the page. Please note that you don’t need to report the reasons for your obstacles.
5. Click the Save progress button once you have entered all the necessary rooms.

It is important for reasons of both work safety and organization that your supervisors are made aware of the rooms in which you can’t teach. Therefore, in addition to entering the rooms in the questionnaire, you need to notify your supervisor(s) of these exceptions.

Q. Custom questions

The timetabler officer may also ask some custom questions which he/she has thought useful for the planning process. After answering, you must remember to click the blue Save Progress button on the left to be able to proceed.

Once you’ve answered all the questions, click the Save Progress button. After that the button changes to a Finish button. By clicking it the form is submitted.

If you don't want to send the form yet, click the Back to main site button. This way you can later return to the form to complete your answers and send them. Please remember to send your answers by the last return date set by the timetabling officer.

Once you’ve completed and sent the form, you’ll get an e-mail in the language you were logged in when answering. Using the link in the e-mail you can edit your answers as long as they haven’t been approved.

After receiving the form, the timetabler who sent it to you can check your answers. If all questions have been answered according to the instructions, he/she will then approve the form, creating constraints that will affect the teaching schedules planned for you.

However, if needed, the timetabler may also send the questionnaire back to you for editing. You’ll get an e-mail with the comments and a link to edit the form:

After changing your answers according to the feedback, you can send the form back to the timetabler.

Once the timetabler has approved our answers, you’ll get a confirmation e-mail.

The e-mail contains a link to your form. However, you can now only view your answers, but no longer edit them. Please note that once your answers have been approved, you can view them only via the link in the e-mail. Therefore save the e-mail in case you wish to view your answers later.

You can see who created the form In the questionnaire. In case you need to report some new obstacles or get a reported obstacle removed, you can contact this person or the service address of the timetablers (you can find the addresses on the page Teaching programmes).

You can read more about the planning of teaching, and the role of this form in it, in the article Teaching Programmes You can find more information on how teaching programmes are planned in the degree programmes in Flamma (requires a login with a University username).

You can read more about the tools you can use to manage your teaching in the article Managing Your Teaching.

You will find more information in Flamma on how to use the calendar view and room reservation requests for other than teaching purposes (require a login with University username).