A Complete Solution to Exam Scheduling Problem: A Case Study

Exam scheduling is a complex task that higher education institutions (universities, colleges, etc.) must prepare each semester depending on their academic calendar. The preparation of exam schedules requires a multi-dimensional analysis and experience. It is also a quite time-consuming sequence of operations. Exam times should not overlap when preparing the schedules and needed constraints are expected to be complied with as much as possible. Therefore, it takes a long time to form a complete solution. In this study, a Genetic Algorithm based exam scheduling method was developed to create a complete solution for the Vocational School of T.O.B.B. Technical Sciences, Karabuk University. During the test phase, four different experiments were performed in different constraints and criteria. As a result of these experiments, all solutions gave appropriate results until 2000 iterations. There was no overlap in any of the exam schedules and significant success was achieved in the desired constraints.