Every term starts over.
New class times mean every schedule gets rebuilt from scratch. Seniors graduate, new hires start, and add/drop week shuffles it again.
For campuses
Shifts that fit around classes.
Students connect their calendars once. Shifts land between classes, any gap is named early, and finals week is planned before it starts.
How your business runs
No two students have the same week.
A university runs on student workers. They staff the library desk, the rec center, the dining hall, the IT help desk, tutoring and campus tours. Most work a few hours a week between classes, and no two students have the same week.
The academic calendar sets the pace. Every term brings new class times and new hires, seniors leave, and add/drop week shuffles it all again. Finals need the longest hours when students have the least time, then the breaks empty campus except for the students who stay.
Student workers and supervisors Desks, study rooms and the pool deck Tour carts, vans and AV kits
Fall and spring termsLate August to mid-December, mid-January to early May FinalsMid-December and early May Winter breakMid-December to mid-January SummerMid-May to late August
Where scheduling breaks
Five ways a term goes sideways.
Most student schedules live in a shared spreadsheet, a stack of class timetables and one supervisor's head. That works until add/drop week.
Finals need you most.
The library stays open late just when students need time to study. Every shift has to work around someone's exam.
Not everyone can work every desk.
Only certified lifeguards watch the pool, and only trained closers lock up. The right student has to be free at the right hour.
Two jobs, one limit.
During the term, a student on an F-1 visa can work 20 hours a week on campus, total, across every job. Each department sees only its own hours.
Someone always can't make it.
A review session moves, a student gets sick, and a shift sits empty. The supervisor starts texting down a list.
Say how it works
Your rules, in plain words.
Tell OnlineScheduling how your departments work, the way you'd tell a new student supervisor. It reads each rule back, and nothing changes until you confirm.
Class times, certifications, closers and hour limits are all just rules. Every schedule is checked against them.
Say “always” or “try to,” and it knows which rules can bend.
A rule in plain words
“Never schedule anyone during their own classes.”
Library and rec center this week Week of Oct 12
MonTueWedThuFri
Library desk
Pool deck
Rec closer
New hires
Tour cart
No shift overlaps busy time
Your five building blocks
Five building blocks, in campus words.
Every schedule is made of the same five pieces. Here's what they look like for student workers.
What you schedule
Student workersSupervisorsLibrary deskStudy roomsPool deckTour cartsVansAV kits
When it's needed
Desk shiftsOpen-to-close coverageCampus toursTutoring sessionsEvent setupsLate nights at finals
Who's on it
Maya, a certified lifeguard, covers the rec center pool deck Tuesday 6 to 9 p.m. She's busy until 5.
When it's not free
Time offTrips home over breakPool closed for repairs
Classes, labs and exams count as busy time, from each student's own calendar.
How it works here
Your rules, in your own words. “Never schedule anyone during their own classes.”
When plans change
Late nights, planned around finals.
Two weeks before finals, the library decides to stay open late. You say “Finals week, the library is open until 2 a.m., Monday to Thursday.” Late shifts appear and fill around every student's busy time, each with a trained closer.
One gap is left: only Theo is free Thursday from midnight to 2. You hear which rule it breaks, two on the desk until closing, and why. You say “One is fine Thursday, the floor is quiet,” and that reason goes on the record.
Finals week, the library is open until 2 a.m., Monday to Thursday.
Done. Late shifts fill Monday to Thursday around everyone's busy time, two on the desk and a trained closer on each.
One gap: only Theo is free Thursday from midnight to 2. The rule says two on the desk until closing. Allow it once?
The pool closes. The lifeguards still work.
The pool closes Thursday and Friday for repairs. You say “Pool's closed until Saturday.” Lifeguards on those shifts move to the rec center front desk, where they're trained. Each move shows up in their own calendar and goes on the record.
Ask your assistant
Ask between classes. Students see it in their calendar.
Connect OnlineScheduling to the AI assistant you already use, like ChatGPT, Claude and Muse, and schedule by asking. Students connect their own calendar from a phone or computer browser, so their shifts show up next to their classes. No app to download.
Your AI assistant Connected to OnlineScheduling
Who can cover the library desk Thursday 8 to 11 p.m.? Keep everyone under 15 hours this week. Sam and Priya are free then and both stay under 15 hours this week. Book them? Yes. Priya just got lifeguard certified. Add her to the pool deck. Done. Priya can now take pool deck shifts at the rec center. Move Sunday's campus tour to 1 p.m. and keep the same guides if they're free. Moved to 1 p.m. Theo and Maya are free and keep it. Jordan is busy then, so Kai takes his spot.
OnlineScheduling · nowSam's calendar updated: Thursday, Library desk, 8:00 p.m.
OnlineScheduling · nowSam's calendar updated: Thursday, Library desk, 8:00 p.m.Google Calendar Apple Calendar Outlook
Questions
Campus questions, answered.
Something else on your mind? Ask when you request access. We read every request ourselves.
How do students share their class schedules?
Only through their own calendar. They connect it once, and classes, labs and exams count as busy time.
What does a supervisor see of a student's calendar?
Only that they're busy. Class names and details stay private.
Can it keep students under their hour limits?
Yes. Set them up as rules, like “International students: no more than 20 hours a week during the term.”
Does an hour limit count every department a student works in?
Yes, across every department in your account, when it's a global rule for the whole organization.
Can the library, rec center and dining hall share one account?
Yes. Each department keeps its own rules, and global rules apply to all of them.
Can students swap or pick up shifts?
Yes. They can add, drop or swap shifts, and supervisors can change the schedule by hand. Changes show up in their own calendar.
Do students need an app?
No. Each student needs an account, then connects their own calendar from a phone or computer browser.
Request access
Bring us your hardest campus rule.
We're opening access in stages. Tell us how your campus runs, and we'll reply within one business day.
1Tell us how you schedule.
2We read every request ourselves.
3We reply within one business day.
Your hardest rule, for example “Never schedule anyone during their own classes.”
Tell us who you are, what you schedule and the rule your current tool can't handle. It's one short form.
Request access