Preferences Manager FAQ | TimetablingSolutions

Preferences Manager – FAQs

This page answers common questions about the new Preferences Manager.
Preferences Manager is available on https://timetabling.education to users with the role of Preferences Manager.
Web Preferences manager on https://selectmysubjects.com.au/manager remains available in 2026 and will be retired 24th December 2026.

Preferences Manager introduces a simplified and more integrated experience for managing student subject selections.

Single Student Login

Students now sign in once via the Timetabling Solutions portal and can access all assigned student groups. Separate access codes and passwords are no longer required for each group.

Enhanced Parent/Caregiver Confirmation

Schools can now:

Record up to four parent/caregiver email addresses per student.

Collect confirmations either at submission or via email.

Monitor outstanding confirmations through the new Confirmations page.

Receive alerts when students are missing parent/caregiver email addresses.

Improved Data Management

Students and subjects can be imported directly from V10 data files.

Subject descriptions can be centrally managed and imported from CSV/XLSX files.

Preferences can be exported directly to V10 Student Options.

Simplified Selection Rules

The Selection Rules interface has been redesigned. Prerequisites and corequisites are now configured by selecting subjects and defining simple AND/OR relationships. Complex nested rule expressions are no longer supported.

Completed Subject Scores

Completed subjects can now include a score, allowing schools to create rules based on academic performance. For example, a student may be required to achieve a minimum score in one subject before selecting another.

New Confirmations Page

A dedicated Confirmations page provides a central location for managing parent/caregiver approvals and manually approving students when required.

Enhanced Counsellor Access

Counsellors can be assigned access to specific student groups, allowing them to view and edit student preferences and receipts, as well as access selected reports.

New Gender Options

Additional gender values are available for use in selection rules:

Non Binary

Female and Non Binary

Male and Non Binary

Preference Group Improvements

Text entry questions can now be configured with predefined multiple-choice responses.

Study Stream Overrides

Study Streams can now override both Selection Instructions and Receipt/Confirmation settings defined at the Student Group level.

Improved Visibility and Auditing

View Changes now records the date, time, user and action performed.

Read-only fields are clearly identified with a crossed-out pencil icon.

Student Group Online status provides greater control over when students can edit their preferences.

Overall, Preferences Manager provides a more streamlined user experience, improved parent engagement, enhanced reporting and auditing, and tighter integration with the Management Portal and V10.
Yes. The Web Preferences Manager service at https://selectmysubjects.com.au/manager will remain available throughout 2026 and will be retired on 24 December 2026.

All schools with a current Web Preferences Manager subscription will also receive access to Preferences Manager during 2026, allowing you to transition at a time that suits your school.

Preferences Manager is available through the Timetabling Solutions cloud platform at https://timetabling.education.

To access Preferences Manager, ask your Global Administrator to assign you the Preferences Manager role via Task 1 – Manage Users in the Management Portal.

Getting Started

While we continue to expand our support materials, the current guides and videos provide everything most schools need to get started.

Getting Started Guide
https://timetabling.elevio.help/en/articles/988

Preferences Manager Videos
https://timetabling.elevio.help/en/articles/1002

Schools using Web Preferences Manager Lite Edition

Web Preferences Manager Lite Edition accounts that had not been accessed for more than 12 months as at 1 July 2026 have been closed.

Schools with a current Software Maintenance Subscription that includes Web Preferences Manager Lite Edition have access to Preferences Manager Lite Edition now.
Our new Preferences Manager app is now available through the Management Portal at https://timetabling.education and will progressively replace Web Preferences Manager.

To access Preferences Manager, ask your Global Administrator to assign the Preferences Manager role via task 1, Manage Users.

While we continue to expand our support materials, the current getting-started guide and video resources provide everything most schools need to successfully use the product.

Preferences Manager Getting Started Guide:

https://timetabling.elevio.help/en/articles/988

Preferences Manager Videos:
https://timetabling.elevio.help/en/articles/1002

We are gradually rolling out Preferences Manager to selected schools throughout 2026. The Web Preferences Manager will remain available in 2026 before being retired at the end of the year on 24th December 2026.
Schools with a valid subscription to Web Preferences Manager will automatically have access to Preferences Manager, with no additional subscription required.
Schools without an existing Web Preferences manager subscription can purchase an annual subscription to Preferences Manager here: Preferences Manager | TimetablingSolutions
Web Preferences Manager was originally released in 2007 and has served schools well for many years. As part of our ongoing investment in cloud-based solutions, it has been rebuilt as Preferences Manager using modern technologies and a contemporary user interface.

Preferences Manager forms part of the unified Timetabling Solutions platform available at https://timetabling.education. This platform allows schools to manage users, security, and core data from a single location, providing a more consistent experience across all Timetabling Solutions cloud applications.

By moving to a shared platform, schools benefit from improved security, modern authentication options, simplified user management, and access to future enhancements that can be delivered more efficiently across the entire suite of applications.

The transition to Preferences Manager also provides a foundation for new features and ongoing development that would not have been practical within the original Web Preferences Manager architecture.
Yes. You can assign the Preferences Manager role to multiple users within your school.

To access Preferences Manager, ask your Global Administrator to assign the Preferences Manager role via Task 1 – Manage Users in the Management Portal.

For users who will be responsible for maintaining students, subjects, study streams, or other data used by Preferences Manager, we also recommend assigning the School Administrator role. This role provides access to the data management functions required to create and maintain preference collections.

Multiple users can work in Preferences Manager at the same time, making it suitable for schools where subject selection administration is shared across curriculum leaders, counsellors, and administrative staff.

Can counsellors access Preferences Manager?

Yes. Counsellors can be granted access to the Preferences Manager using a restricted role.

Counsellors can be given access to specific student groups and are able to:

View student preferences and receipts.

Edit student preferences and receipts.

View reports relating to the student groups they have been assigned.

To be eligible for addition as a counsellor, the user must first be assigned the Preferences Manager – Restricted role in the Management Portal. This role can be assigned by the school's Global Administrator or User Administrator.

Once assigned, a user with the Preferences Manager role can add the counsellor via Task 2 – Counsellors in Preferences Manager and grant access to one or more student groups.
Yes. Preferences Manager supports parent and caregiver approval of student subject selections.

To enable this feature, open the Parameters page for the Student Group, select the Receipt/Confirmation Instructions tab, and choose how parent approval should be collected:

Email Approval – a confirmation request is emailed to the parent or caregiver.

At Submission – the parent or caregiver can review and sign the preferences at the time of submission.

Parent and caregiver email addresses can be imported from:

Your Student Options file (email addresses only, does not include names), or

An Excel (.xlsx) file template via the Management Portal, Task 3B Students.

Only users with the Global Administrator or School Administrator role can update student contact details through the Management Portal.

Parent/Caregiver changes from Web Preferences Manager?

In Web Preferences Manager, students could enter a parent/caregiver email address during the submission process. This feature has been removed in Preferences Manager.

Parent and caregiver contact details are now managed centrally through the Management Portal, providing schools with greater control over the information used for notifications and approvals.

What happens if a parent/caregiver does not approve the preferences?

Preferences will still be collected and can be exported to your Student Options file regardless of whether a parent or caregiver has provided approval.

Parent approval is intended as a communication and acknowledgement process. Schools can continue their timetabling and subject selection workflow without waiting for every parent/caregiver approval to be completed. It remains the student's responsibility to obtain any required parent signature or approval in accordance with the school's policy.

Email Delivery and Spam Filtering

Before opening preferences to students, we recommend asking parents and caregivers to add noreply@timetabling.com.au to their contacts or safe sender list.

This significantly reduces the likelihood that confirmation and approval emails will be treated as spam or junk mail by email providers such as Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo.

If a parent or caregiver cannot find an approval email, they should first check their Spam or Junk folder. If emails continue to be filtered incorrectly, additional email filtering rules may need to be configured within their email system.

For Gmail users, we recommend that you advise them to create a filter for emails sent from noreply@timetabling.com.au:

Sign in to Gmail.

In the search bar, enter:

from:noreply@timetabling.com.au

Click the Show Search Options (filter) icon.

Select Create filter.

Tick Never send it to Spam.

Click Create filter.

Tip: You may also wish to select Also apply filter to matching conversations to move any previous emails from the Spam folder into the Inbox.
Data can be exported to Student Options (.sfx) or Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) when preferences have been entered.

Export to Student Options

The preference data can be exported to an existing Student Options file uploaded to the Management Portal, or to a new Student Options file.

Select to export to an existing Student Options file if your original data had data in custom fields that you wish to preserve.
No. Existing data is not automatically migrated from Web Preferences Manager to Preferences Manager.

Preferences Manager has been built on the Timetabling Solutions unified cloud platform, which uses centrally managed data for students, subjects, users, and other school information. As a result, schools will need to populate the Management Portal with their current data and create new student groups within Preferences Manager.

Before transitioning, we recommend exporting your data from Web Preferences Manager for reference and archival purposes.

Recommended Exports

From the Manage Data page in Web Preferences Manager, we recommend exporting:

Student Options File (.sf9) – contains the preference structure and student selections.

Excel Export (.xlsx) – provides a convenient format for reviewing and analysing data outside the application.

Submitted Student Receipts – a report containing the latest submitted receipt for all students within the Student Group.

These exports will provide access to your historical subject selection information after you move to Preferences Manager.
Yes, but the behaviour differs from Web Preferences Manager.

In Web Preferences Manager, each Student Group had its own student access code and password. When a Student Group was taken offline, students could no longer make changes to their preferences, but they could still sign in and view their submitted receipt.

In Preferences Manager, students access Student Groups through their user account in the Student Portal. Taking a Student Group offline prevents students from editing their preferences, but the group may still be visible to students depending on their access settings.

How do I hide an offline Student Group from students?

If you do not want students to see a Student Group after it has been taken offline:

Sign in to Preferences Manager.

Open the required Student Group.

Select the Students tab.

Locate the student.

Untick the Online checkbox for that student.

Save your changes.

Once a student's Online access has been disabled for the group, that Student Group will no longer appear in the Student Portal for that student.

Why would I leave students online in an offline group?

There may be situations where you want a Student Group to remain offline while still allowing students to view their existing selections or submitted receipts.

For example, after subject selections have closed, a school may wish to prevent further changes while still allowing students and parents to review the submitted subjects.

In this scenario, leave the students marked as Online within the Student Group. Students will be able to view their information but will not be able to modify their preferences while the group remains offline.