Class substitution: cover or swap a period
When a faculty member is away, the Substitutions screen lists each lecture that needs cover and the faculty free to take it, best first. Faculty can also ask a colleague to cover or swap a period. The substitute takes that day's lecture and its register, and the weekly timetable stays as it is.
PLANSFrom Growth
Why it matters
In most colleges, cover for an absent faculty member is arranged by the head of department each morning from memory and phone calls. The same few people end up taking every extra lecture, and swaps agreed in the corridor leave the subject attendance marked by the wrong person. SmartMy College starts from the leave you have already approved and lists each period that needs cover. For each one it offers the faculty who are free, those who teach the subject first and the lightest day ahead of the busy ones. Faculty can also settle a swap between themselves, with the colleague's yes and your approval on record. The substitute gets the lecture's register, and the weekly timetable is never touched.
The problem it solves
- At 8:45 the head of department learns a faculty member is on leave and phones round to find who is free in Period 2.
- The same willing faculty members take every extra lecture, and those with a light day are never asked.
- Two faculty members swap lectures between themselves, the register is marked by the wrong person, and subject attendance no longer matches the timetable.
- A substitute is told in the corridor, forgets, and sixty students wait in a lecture hall.
How it works
- A faculty member's leave, once approved in SmartMy HRMS, shows as an absence on the Substitutions screen by itself. Without it, the office clicks Mark a teacher away and chooses the days and the reason.
- The principal, a head of department or the Administrator opens Timetable > Substitutions and picks the day. Under each absent faculty member, every period shows with its class, its subject and how many are still to cover.
- For each period the screen offers up to eight faculty free at that time. Those who teach the subject come first, then the same department, then anyone free. Within each group, the lightest day comes first.
- The head of department picks a substitute. Cover arranged this way is approved at once, and both faculty members are told. When every period is taken, the absent faculty member shows All covered.
- A faculty member who must be elsewhere can ask instead: Cover my period, or Swap periods, which offers one of the colleague's periods in exchange. The colleague accepts or declines.
- An accepted request goes through your Class substitution approval chain. Once approved, the substitute takes that day's lecture and marks its register.
- The timetable itself never changes. Cancel gives the period back to its own faculty member, as long as its register is not closed.
Everything it does
Who is away
- With SmartMy HRMS: approved leave becomes an absence over its days by itself, marked from approved leave; leave withdrawn or refused removes it
- Marked by the office: the faculty member, from and to dates, and the reason: On leave, Sick, Other duty or Other, with a note
- Only the principal, a head of department or the Administrator marks someone away or removes an absence
- Who is away lists everyone away on the chosen day, with their periods and how many are still to cover
Finding a substitute
- Up to eight suggestions per period, each with why: Teaches the subject, Same department or Free then
- Within each group, the faculty member with the fewest periods that day comes first
- Never offered: the period's own faculty member, anyone away that day, anyone teaching at an overlapping time
- When a faculty member asks a colleague, only colleagues who can sign in are offered, because they must answer
Cover and swap
- Cover: the substitute takes the period
- Swap: the substitute takes the period, and the faculty member takes one of the substitute's periods the same day in return
- Arranged by the office: approved at once, never through the chain
- Asked by a faculty member: Waiting for Colleague, then Accept or Decline (with a reason), then the approval chain
- Statuses: Draft, Waiting for Colleague, Waiting for Approval, Approved, Declined by Colleague, Rejected and Cancelled
- Reasons on a substitution: On leave, Personal request, Other duty or Other
Checks before a period moves
- The period must be on the timetable that day and not a holiday
- A period taken by an exam is not a lecture that day and cannot be substituted
- One live substitution per period per day
- The substitute must be free at that time; in a swap, the faculty member must be free at the period given in exchange
- A substitution is for today or a later day
What happens on the day
- The substitute gets the day's lecture and its attendance register, made for them or moved to them if already made
- The period shows in the substitute's day in the Campus app and on Class sessions as covering for the absent faculty member
- Subject attendance is marked by the person in the room, so it stays true to the lecture held
- The weekly timetable does not change; the next week is as before
- Cancel by the faculty member who asked or by the office gives the period back, unless its register is already closed
Lists
- My substitutions: a faculty member's own periods of the day and their requests
- Colleagues asking you: requests to accept or decline
- Waiting for approval: accepted requests not yet approved
- All substitutions: every substitution, with filters for cover, swap, waiting and approved
Who uses it
Head of departmentSees who in the department is away, covers each period from the suggestions, and approves or rejects requests in the chain.
PrincipalCovers periods across departments and decides requests in the chain.
Administrator (academic office)Marks faculty away, arranges cover and keeps the Class substitution approval chain.
FacultyAsk a colleague to cover or swap a period, answer colleagues' requests, and take the periods given to them.
Where you use it
- Web: Timetable > Substitutions (the day's board) and the substitution records
- The Campus app, faculty view: the substitute sees the period in their day and takes its attendance. Built and in testing, not in the app stores yet
- Not in the app: asking for, accepting and approving substitutions is done on the web
- Not told to students: no message goes to the class when a period is covered
What you control
Settings
- Class substitution approval chain: the principal, heads of department and Administrators to start with. Set it to Approved at Once when the colleague's yes is enough
- Absences from approved leave: on by itself with SmartMy HRMS
- Reasons for an absence: On leave, Sick, Other duty and Other
Approvals
- Class substitution: for requests between faculty members, decided by the principal, heads of department or Administrators to start with. The two faculty members in the request never decide it, and cover arranged by the office needs no approval
Notifications
- Substitution Requested: to the colleague asked; phone notification, in the app and by email; sent at once
- Cover Assigned: to the substitute and the absent faculty member when the office covers a period. Phone notification, in the app and by email, sent at once
- Substitution Update: to both faculty members when a request is accepted, declined, approved, rejected or cancelled. Phone notification, in the app and by email, sent at once
- Request to Approve (level): to the approvers of the level; phone notification, by email and in the app
- The person who acted is not told of their own action
Works with
SmartMy HRMSA faculty member's approved leave appears as an absence on the Substitutions screen, over the leave's days, without anyone typing it again.
Questions
Do we need SmartMy HRMS?
No. Without it, the office marks a faculty member away on the Substitutions screen. With SmartMy HRMS, approved leave shows there by itself.Does the timetable change when a period is covered?
No. Only that day's lecture moves to the substitute, with its register. The weekly timetable stays as it is, and the next week is back to normal.Can two faculty members swap lectures without the head of department?
They can ask and accept between themselves. The swap then goes through the Class substitution approval chain. Set that chain to Approved at Once if the colleague's yes is enough at your college.Who marks attendance in a covered period?
The substitute. The lecture and its register are theirs for that day, on the web and in the Campus app.Can a substitution be undone?
Yes. The faculty member who asked or the office clicks Cancel, and the period goes back to its own faculty member. Once the register of that period is closed, it can no longer be cancelled.Can faculty ask for cover from the phone?
Not yet. Requests, answers and approvals are on the web, on the Substitutions screen. The app shows the substitute the period in their day and lets them take its attendance.Related features
TIMETABLE, ASSIGNMENTS, NOTICESWeekly timetable and holidaysSet the periods of the day, the holidays and each programme's weekly timetable once. Faculty, students and parents see the same week, with each student's elective periods added. Every day's lectures and attendance registers are made from it.ATTENDANCE AND LEAVESubject-wise attendance registersFaculty mark each period's register on the web or on their phone, starting from all present. Students and parents see the overall percentage, each subject's figure and every absence. Exams can hold back students short of attendance, per subject or overall.APPS AND PORTALFaculty view in the appThe faculty view of the Campus app puts the day on the phone: today's lectures and registers, assignments, marks, student leave and exam duties. The same app runs the library counter and the activity instructor's sessions, and each person sees only the pages their role allows.ADMISSIONS AND STUDENT RECORDSStaff records for faculty and office staffKeep each faculty member's and staff member's file in the college system: staff ID, joining date, qualifications, earlier jobs and family. With SmartMy HRMS the service dates come from HR and stay the same in both.ACROSS SMARTMY COLLEGEApproval chainsLeave, assignments, circulars, elective registrations, credit transfers, certificates, revaluations, fees, placement profiles and job notification forms go to the right people in the right order. You set the chains up without code. Every decision is kept with who made it, when and why.ACROSS SMARTMY COLLEGENotificationsSmartMy College tells students, parents, faculty and recruiters when something needs them: an elective window, a fee due, a result, a drive or an offer. Every message also lands in one inbox in the Campus app and on the portal. Each person chooses their channels and their informational messages.
See your own semester run in it.
Tell us how many students you have, which programmes you run, how you hold examinations and how electives are chosen today. We will show you SmartMy College set up that way.