E10 - How to: Manage free periods

Most schools require most students to attend a lesson in every period. However, senior classes may sometimes have 'free' periods. Rather than leave a gap in the year structure, E10 best practice is to specify what is occurring here. This makes it clear to end users (who may need to find a student), ensures the gap is not seen as a possible 'problem' in the data and allows E10 to better control the placement of the free period with requirements. It also allows optional roll marking, rooming and other student management tools.

 Note also that E10 vertical class links require all periods to be 'occupied' to work effectively, else linked classes may bleed (incorrectly) into gaps. Ensure Line structure shows 100% of periods are occupied by classes before timetabling. 

 The school may have some regular academic classes which are scheduled to these 'free' periods. It can be a good clash breaker to do this, or allows slight variation on spread for classes that may want 'extra' doubles compared to others on it's line. Scheduling a Line 3 class period 5, and a free in period 6 allows you to bleed one specific class from Line 3 elsewhere, to period 6, thus it has a double period - while all other classes in Line 3 only have singles perhaps. 

 Note this class is different to E10's regular 'automated' study classes.  Those are generated, if option is being used, for students who are not taking any class on an existing line.  

 The gap filler class can be assigned to NoFaculty and given a suitable Subject description.  The Spread can be ‘Anything’.  

For some admin systems, consider marking this class as 'Exportable = N' or Type = 'Study' using the appropriate columns that can be selected from View.