Can students register for classes with Visual Schedule Builder (VSB)?

No. VSB is a way for students to generate possible weekly timetables in which no courses have time conflicts and where additional scheduling constraints can be set up to shape your weekly schedule of courses as desired. Although VSB can be used to guide students’ registration choices, they must still register for courses directly in Minerva.

 

Does all current class schedule information from Minerva appear in VSB in real time?

No. However, Enrolment information is updated in real time from the Minerva Class Schedule. This means that when course sections are full, an accurate warning appears in VSB. However, other last-minute schedule updates - such as day/time of class and the availability of new sections or the cancellation of sections - are sent to VSB only once each morning. Therefore, you should always consult the Minerva Class Schedule before you register.

 

Does VSB help students identify their program requirements?

No. VSB does not replace the role of a student's advisor or a student's ongoing planning toward graduation from McGill (see Degree Evaluation).

 

Are all McGill courses listed in VSB?

All regular credit - and CEU - weighted courses, graduate and undergraduate, are listed in VSB. Non-transcript courses, such as Conservatory of Music courses, are not included.

 

Are ALL individual sections within each course listed in VSB?

No. Sections that have a status of "Registration Not Required" or "Inactive" (displayed in Minerva Class Schedule, in the far-right column) are not included in VSB. Schedules for these sections can only be found in Minerva Class Schedule.

 

I have a potential schedule built in VSB. Are there other activities related to my courses that I should know about before I register for these course using Minerva?

Yes, some of your courses may have extra activities that are either required (e.g. mid-term exams) or optional (e.g. optional tutorials) that do not appear in VSB. Use Minerva Class Schedule to find the schedule of these activities. Typically, they are course sections that appear with a status of “Registration Not Required”.

 

Are complete course schedule details shown for all the course sections listed on VSB?

No. VSB shows the basic schedules for all "Active" course sections. It shows, for example, the regular schedule of lectures, labs, required tutorials and conferences where the information is available. It does not display the occasional exceptional changes to days/times that may be scheduled ad-hoc throughout the term. See Minerva Class Schedule to view all schedule information and the full details associated with any course.

 

I am a Medicine / Dentistry student. Should I use VSB?

No, it is not helpful nor necessary for Medicine or Dentistry students to use VSB. The goal of VSB is to assist students in building a conflict-free schedule in order to select appropriate course sections for registration. Because students in Medicine and Dentistry are in a structured curriculum that is pre-established for each year of the program, it is not necessary for Medicine/Dentistry students to work out a schedule for themselves. Additionally, although some Medicine/Dentistry course activities would be displayed in VSB, VSB cannot capture all schedule details that a Medicine or Dentistry program requires because the schedule of course activities varies during the term.  

 

I'm trying to build a schedule, but when I enter courses it tells me some of them are full. What can I do?

A course that is full today may have space tomorrow, so it is worthwhile to include them in your list of courses when you’re trying to build a possible schedule. However, be prepared to register in an alternative course in case the course remains full. Take note of the CRN so that you can use the Minerva Quick Add boxes to try and register. If the full course is an important or required one for your program, you can consult with the department offering the course, or join the waitlist, if available.  

 

Can I see on VSB if there are waitlist spaces available in a course that is listed as full?

If there are no seats available in the course, and there is a waitlist, VSB will indicate the number of seats available on the waitlist, or that the waitlist is full. When there is still space available in the course, VSB will only indicate whether or not there is a waitlist, without indicating how many spots are available on the waitlist.

 

I only have one elective this term – the rest of my program is already planned out for me. Would I still want to use VSB?

Even if you have only a single course to choose, VSB can offer you multiple weekly schedules to help guide your decision on which elective to take. Narrow down your available time by entering in VSB the courses that you are required to take, then add a few options as a electives. Pin down your mandatory course sections in order to arrange electives around your required sections. Review the different potential schedules created.

 

When I use VSB, I get a warning message on one or more courses, such as "All sections conflict with CHEM 110". What should I do?

You must drop or replace one of the conflicting courses before you click Generate Schedules; otherwise you will get no results. VSB is programmed to disallow all potential schedules that pose a direct time conflict.  

 

When I add five different courses to VSB and try to view their potential schedules, there are no results. How can this be possible?

It is possible if there's a direct same day/same time conflict among the courses you have selected. Be aware of any warnings VSB displays when you are adding courses, for example: "All sections conflict with CHEM 110". If you do not remove this course from your selection you won't see any results. VSB is programmed to disallow all potential schedules that pose a direct time conflict. Adjust your course selection and try again.

 

Can I save the schedules generated by VSB so that I can refer to them later?

Yes, you can add the generated schedule to your favourites (i.e., bookmark it), print it, or capture it in a screenshot to save elsewhere.

 

I was able to use VSB to generate weekly schedules for a number of course sections I want to register for but Minerva would not let me register in all of them. Why did VSB allow me to schedule them?

VSB is not a registration system. It cannot verify your personal eligibility to register in courses. Check for the presence of registration restrictions that display in both VSB and Minerva Class Schedule.

 

I'm a student who works part-time. VSB allows me to add custom time blocks to my potential schedules (there is even a tip - Tip #1 - about this at the top of the VSB screen) but I've tried to block off time and still get results that schedule lectures during my blocked-off time. Why is this happening? 

If you have blocked off time periods, VSB sorts your potential schedules so that those schedules with the fewest courses inside your blocked-off time appear before those that have more courses inside your blocked off time. Please keep in mind that you may be telling VSB to do the impossible by blocking off some periods of time. For example, if you enter into VSB a course whose sections only are offered during a period of time you've blocked off, your results will necessarily be potential schedules that include the course within the blocked-off time.

 

I'm trying to add a spanned course - a course that is part of both the fall and winter terms. How does it work?

When you are selecting a course that spans both the fall and winter terms do not forget to add the course number that ends in D1 in the fall term and the same course number that ends in D2 in the winter term. Unlike Minerva registration where the D2 course is automatically generated in the winter term once you add it in the fall, you must add it yourself on both terms in VSB.

 

I want to search for courses to schedule that are given by a certain instructor. Can I use Visual Schedule Builder (VSB) to search and retrieve courses taught by a specific instructor?

Yes. VSB allows students to enter the name (or the first few letters of the name) of an instructor to call up matching courses. 

 

How can I determine the distance between adjacent classes on my schedule?

When you generate schedules, a warning message will appear if courses held at different campuses are scheduled too close together. You will also find, beside each selected course, links to downtown and Macdonald campus maps.

 

I want to use VSB to prepare but I am not sure how to use VSB prior to registration opening. I can’t copy/paste CRNs like the application tells me to.

Before registration periods, you may wish to save your draft schedules so that you are ready to paste your CRNs in Minerva, once registration begins. One easy way to save your draft schedules is by taking screen captures of your VSB results. Be aware that scheduling information may continue to change as registration periods open and close, thereby altering your VSB scheduling options, so it is always recommended to check Minerva Class Schedule for changes.

 

After registration, should I still be checking Minerva Class Schedule for possible changes?

Yes. Students should always check Minerva Class Schedule before classes start to confirm that no changes have affected their schedule.