Four booking periods for SLU courses at all main campuses – Pilot project for the academic year 26/27

Last changed: 06 November 2025

Starting on 15 May 2026, all main campuses will implement, on a trial basis, the same number of booking periods for the reservation of teaching facilities.

Today, booking is done in different ways. Alnarp books one period at a time (four times per academic year), while Umeå and Uppsala book one semester at a time (twice per academic year).

There are pros and cons to both methods. Booking one period at a time, like in Alnarp, has somewhat more advantages, which is why we are also trialling this method in Umeå and Uppsala. The procedure is being piloted and will be continually evaluated in order to decide what procedure to use in the future. Below are some improvements that a common procedure brings.

  • The same procedure makes it easier to cooperate and understand each other's ways of working.
  • All campuses will have the same conditions for booking teaching facilities.
  • It makes it easier to coordinate courses that are cross-listed between campuses.
  • Short-term planning keeps the timetable up-to-date for students and saves time as fewer changes need to be made.
  • Booking four times a year means a more equal distribution of tasks and an increased chance of becoming familiar with the system.

Background and approval

The proposal emerged from the project on booking rooms for Bachelor’s and Master’s courses and programmes, where the project team consulted with both Sluss and a reference group of department directors of studies. The response was favourable to testing a common procedure using the same number of booking periods.

Questions and Answers

When can I book activities that are not related to studies (at Bachelor’s, Master’s or doctoral level)?

Non-course booking requests are handled as per the booking procedure and normally after classes have been allocated a room. In order to plan activities (other than courses) that need to be booked well in advance, it is possible to book certain selected rooms for this purpose. Contact the room booking team if this is the case.

Can I change the information on my form after I have submitted it

When you submit your form, it will be locked, and you will need to contact the room booking team, who will open the form to allow you to make changes before resubmitting it.

My course extends beyond one period; what should I do?

Forms will be available for two periods ahead, so for the whole semester. You choose whether to complete and submit one or two forms at a time.

Only courses on the form for the upcoming period will be allocated rooms and displayed as a schedule. Forms submitted for the period after will be processed after that period's deadline.

What is the advantage of submitting booking requests for one period at a time?

By submitting requests for one period at a time, you even out the workload, filling in a smaller number of records per booking period.  With shorter booking periods, the number of changes is reduced, and there is no need to plan in detail for a whole semester.

When should requests for summer courses be submitted?

The summer courses have the same deadline as period 4, and you use the same form.

Will the deadline for ordering exams from Exam Services also change?

Exam Services have 2 deadlines per academic year at all main campuses.

15 May - deadline for the autumn semester

15 November - deadline for the spring semester and August resits

Can I get help with the booking in TimeEdit Preferences?

Several departments have had administrators help enter their schedules in the form. Contact your head of department or the responsible administrator to see what applies at your department.  If you have any questions about how best to complete the form, please contact the room booking team or see if you can find the answer on the page Digital course schedules in TimeEdit.

I need to book a guest speaker well in advance; how can I do this?

Write a comment to the room booking team in your form, explaining that the guest speaker is booked for the day and time in question; the room booking team will take this into account as far as possible.

What about the information in the Education Planning and Administration Handbook about when the overall timetable should be available to students?

This text will not be changed as this is a pilot project. Students will be informed of the date, time and place of the compulsory components and of exam and resit dates 4 weeks before each period. The information should be published in Canvas.