Peñalara GHC vs UniTime

Peñalara GHC is timetabling software for educational institutions, with tools to plan, optimise, edit, and publish academic schedules. Its planner imports data and handles complex schedules with strict and flexible conditions, including identifying conditions that may be impossible to satisfy. GHC Optimum searches for a balanced timetable based on user-set preferences and criteria. The editor supports drag-and-drop changes, conflict warnings, and reports on assignments and preference compliance. GHC App gives administrators, teachers, and students access to published calendars and supports absence and substitution management. Timetables can be exchanged in formats including CSV, DBase, Paradox, XML, Excel, and PDF. The downloadable program supports Windows versions from Windows 7; Peñalara says Linux users can run it through PlayOnLinux or Wine. Paid software is single-user, stores information locally or in an enabled cloud repository, and cannot operate over a network. GHC Lite is free with reduced functionality. GHC Demo is free for 15 days, up to 10 teachers and three computer activations. Full GHC Optimum plans start at $8,300 a year for up to 10 teachers, with other teacher-capacity tiers available.

UniTime is a free educational scheduling system for course and exam timetables, room sharing, and student class assignments. Course scheduling can account for student demand, curricula, historical patterns, faculty and room preferences, and relationships among classes. Its examination module builds term schedules intended to minimize student exam conflicts and can schedule midterms and finals. The web-based Events interface lets staff and students request events or search for available times and locations, with notices sent to organizers. Student scheduling assigns students to available class spaces using course requirements and timetable information, but cannot guarantee that every conflict will be resolved. UniTime runs as a server-client application with a web interface and platform-independent distributions. It can operate independently or connect to an existing student information system; documentation describes XML imports and exports and RESTful interfaces. Installation guidance covers Linux, Windows, and Mac. Administrators may configure SSL access through Tomcat and LDAP authentication. The application is distributed under Apache License 2.0. The installation page recommends UniTime 4.8 for production, while UniTime 4.9 is still in development.