Ever since the early years, most university timetabling researchers tend to construct their timetabling models based on the specific requirements and features of their problem. The features included are limited and thus the models developed cannot be easily applied to other institutions. In this paper, we analyzed and collected constraints employed from a number of research papers towards constructing a general model for university course timetabling. We present mixed integer linear programming (MILP) models which incorporated all hard constraints and the desirable soft constraints. The models were then implemented on a case study found in the literature for validation. AIMMS 3.11 mathematical software was employed to solve the models with CPLEX 12.1 as the solver. The computational results are favorable. This would consequently benefit timetabling construction by avoiding application in a specific institution only.

timetabling problem, university course timetabling, optimization, mixed integer linear programming, AIMMS mathematical software.