Building next year’s master schedule is a multi-month strategic puzzle that works best when you have time to explore options, test scenarios, and adjust without pressure. Once you’ve rolled over your data and begun scheduling, it’s common to encounter questions or unexpected results along the way.

This troubleshooting guide highlights where scheduling challenges typically occur, why they happen, and what to do next—so you can keep moving forward efficiently and feel prepared when students select classes in the spring.

The Scheduling Aid doesn't fully build my master schedule. What do I need to update to get closer to a complete master schedule? The Scheduling Aid builds the framework of your schedule—courses, periods, and teacher assignments—based on section setup and constraints. Incomplete results usually mean:

Review section period assignments and constraints, and confirm courses are set up for the right terms, then rerun the Scheduling Aid as many times as needed to reach your optimal master schedule.

💡 Helpful Tip: Running the Scheduling Aid early gives you time to adjust structure and staffing without reworking student schedules later.

→ See: Run the Scheduling Aid in the Help Center

Once your master schedule is in place, students can be scheduled into courses and sections. Here are the most common questions that come up at this stage.

Some of my students are skipped in the bulk scheduling process. How can I make sure students aren't missed? Bulk scheduling places students based on course requests, prerequisites, constraints, and section availability. Students may be skipped if:

A few things you can do to avoid this pitfall include reviewing course prerequisites and constraints, and confirm that students are properly registered for requested classes. You can return to the bulk scheduling process once you've made your adjustments.

💡 Helpful Tip: Identifying skipped students early gives you flexibility to resolve conflicts thoughtfully—rather than scrambling closer to fall.

→ See: Bulk Schedule Students into Sections in the Help Center

I've bulk loaded students into courses, but they aren't showing up on class lists. Why aren't teachers' class lists complete? In jmc, students must be scheduled into specific sections (period and teacher) to appear on class lists. Bulk loading registers students for a course, but does not assign them to a section.

For example, you might bulk load all 9th grade students into 9th Grade Composition so the course appears on their schedules as a requirement. At this stage, students are not yet assigned to a period or teacher—they are simply registered for the course.

You can run the Unscheduled Students Report to identify students registered for courses but not scheduled into sections. Then you're ready to Bulk Schedule Students into Sections or Schedule Students by Section to place students appropriately.

💡 Helpful Tip: Reviewing this report early—before schedules are finalized—can save hours of last-minute adjustments later.

→ See: Bulk Schedule Students into Sections and Schedule Students by Section in the Help Center

Some scheduling challenges stem from course setup rather than scheduling tools themselves.

Students are being scheduled into courses out of sequence. How can I make sure they are scheduled in the right order? Course prerequisites control sequencing. Without prerequisites in place, jmc can’t enforce the correct order.

Set your prerequisites on sequential courses and rerun scheduling once they are defined.

→ See: Working with Prerequisites and Setting Up Course Prerequisites in jmc Office in the Help Center

My courses aren't scheduling into the expected periods or terms. How can I get them to schedule where they should be? If a course is only offered during specific periods or terms, those constraints must be defined before scheduling so the system can honor them.

Review your course constraints and term settings to make the necessary adjustments before returning to the scheduling tools.

→ See: Utilizing Advanced Course Creation Tools and Creating Basic Courses in the Help Center

My courses don’t meet as expected across weeks or instructional days. How can I get them to align with our rotation cycle? Rotation behavior in jmc is represented through a combination of calendar term dates, course setup, and section configuration—not a single rotation setting.

Confirm how instructional days repeat across your cycle, and plan how multi-week or cross-segment courses should span dates or terms. Then you can build sections consistently with that plan before running the Scheduling Aid.

💡 Helpful Tip: Documenting your rotation plan early helps avoid rework and keeps your master schedule aligned.

→ See: Adjust School Settings for Master Schedule Building and Utilizing Advanced Course Creation Tools in the Help Center

Scheduling connects a lot of moving pieces, so questions are completely normal—especially early on. If you’re unsure how your setup might affect scheduling, our Support and Training teams are here to help.

You can contact Support for help reviewing your setup or resolving issues, or schedule a training session for a guided walkthrough. Reaching out early can save time, prevent bigger issues down the road, and help you get the most out of jmc.

Rolling over early unlocks the time you need to build, test, and refine your master schedule thoughtfully. Catching these common scheduling scenarios now gives you flexibility, reduces last-minute pressure, and helps ensure you’re ready when students select classes in the spring.

You don’t have to solve the puzzle all at once—jmc is here to help you move up, step by step.