Free group

A free group is a semi-autonomous working group: part of the class works independently, usually in the same room and with the same teacher as the main lesson, in parallel with it — a kind of satellite group of the course. The planner wants to show it on the timetable without setting up a formal group division opposite it.

That is where the word free comes from: since this subgroup shares the room and the teacher of the course it comes from, a regular group (even in a division) would trigger a room and teacher conflict. The free group is the wild card that disables all conflicts — whether with the rest of the class, with the teacher or with the room. It therefore coexists with its originating lesson.

This need arises in particular in art schools and social work programs, where part of the time is spent in supervised independent work: a subgroup moves forward on its project in a corner of the room while the rest of the class follows the lesson. More broadly, the free group models any group whose membership is not fixed, without generating conflicts.

Difference from a regular group

A regular group is taken into account by the solver: it checks that its students are not double-booked (two lessons at the same time) and that both its room and its teacher are free. That is exactly what would block the satellite group: the room and the teacher of the main course are already taken.

A free group lifts these checks. Its lesson can therefore share the room and the teacher of the course it comes from; and a student can belong to several overlapping free groups without any alert being raised.

In practice: manual placement

Automatic generation does support free groups, but it is recommended not to use it in this case: place and lock by hand the main lesson and its satellite lesson on the desired time slot. The solver does not know which one is the main lesson and which one is the satellite — left to generation, they could land anywhere. Given its very occasional and specific nature, the free group calls for manual use.

Creation

When creating the group, check the "free group" option on Add group. Visually, these groups are marked in the interface so they are not confused with constrained groups.