Frequently Asked Questions

Student placement software is a specialized tool that helps educators create balanced and optimal class assignments. It automates the complex process of distributing students across different classes while considering multiple factors like academic performance, behavior, gender balance, and special needs. This ensures fair and effective classroom compositions that benefit both teachers and students.

Shibutz offers a comprehensive suite of features for class list management:

• Balanced placement across 6 dimensions — gender, behavior, emotional level, social skills, learning level, and attention needs
• Friend matching with compatibility scores so you can see how well each student is placed with their preferred peers
• Keep-together and keep-apart rules for student pairs that must (or must not) share a class
• Excel import with smart column mapping, plus one-click export of finalized lists
• Analytics dashboard showing gender ratios, attribute distributions, and friend placement scores per class
• Unlimited shuffles and adjustments at any time

For a complete overview, visit our features page.

Shibutz is designed to work for schools of all sizes, from small private schools to large public institutions. Our system can handle:

• Small schools with under 100 students
• Medium-sized schools with several hundred students
• Large schools with over 1000 students

Our algorithms are optimized to efficiently handle any number of students while maintaining good balance across classes.

Shibutz is ideal for elementary schools, providing:

• Easy-to-use interface for teachers and administrators
• Comprehensive student attribute management
• Smart balancing algorithms for optimal class composition
• Flexible customization to match your school's unique needs
• Time-saving automation of manual class list creation

Shibutz provides comprehensive support for special education class assignments:

• Custom attributes for special education needs and accommodations
• Ability to ensure proper distribution of support resources
• Special consideration for student-teacher ratios in special education settings
• Flexibility to handle both integrated and dedicated special education classes

Spreadsheets require you to manually balance every attribute across every class — a tedious process that gets exponentially harder with more students and criteria. Shibutz uses an advanced optimization algorithm that simultaneously balances gender, behavior, emotion, social skills, learning levels, and attention needs while respecting all your placement rules (keep-together, keep-apart, class assignments). It finds the best possible solution in seconds, not hours. Plus you get analytics, friend matching scores, and Excel export built in. See our full feature list.

Yes! Shibutz can manage class assignments across multiple grade levels simultaneously. You can:

• Create separate class lists for each grade
• Apply different criteria per grade level
• Manage special cases like mixed-grade classes

Our system makes creating balanced class lists simple:

• Import your student data or add them manually
• Set your balancing criteria (gender, academic level, behavior)
• Define any specific student needs or relationships
• Let the system generate optimized class assignments
• Fine-tune the results as needed with unlimited adjustments

With Shibutz, you can create balanced class lists in minutes rather than hours or days. The exact time depends on:

• Number of students and classes
• Complexity of your balancing criteria
• Special requirements and constraints

Our system works quickly to provide optimal results that you can then fine-tune as needed.

The system doesn't put any limit. Obviously, the more students you have, the more complex it will be to find a balanced assignment that matches all requirements, but our system is designed to handle large datasets efficiently.

Unlimited! Try different combinations, tweak and play with the requirements. We're here to make your life easier.

Shibutz supports importing student data from Excel files (.xlsx). You can also add students manually through our intuitive interface. Our import process includes smart column mapping that guides you step-by-step through matching your spreadsheet columns to student attributes like name, gender, academic level, and behavioral notes. A downloadable Excel template is also available inside the app so you can start with the correct format right away.

Shibutz is a web-based application that works on any device with a modern browser. While you can view class lists on mobile, we recommend using a desktop or tablet for the best experience when creating and managing class assignments, as the interface involves data tables and drag-and-drop features.

No. Shibutz is entirely web-based — just open your browser and sign in. There's nothing to install, update, or maintain. Works with Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and other modern browsers.

In the class settings, you can define:

• Keep-together rules — pair students who should be in the same class (e.g., friends who support each other)
• Keep-apart rules— separate students who shouldn't be in the same class (e.g., siblings, behavioral conflicts)
• Teacher assignment — assign specific students to specific classes when needed

The algorithm respects all these constraints while still optimizing for overall class balance.

All data is stored securely in cloud infrastructure with encryption at rest and in transit. We use industry-standard security protocols to ensure your school and student data remains protected at all times.

Yes. Shibutz is designed with educational data protection in mind. Our data handling practices comply with COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) and FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act). We do not collect data directly from students — only authorized school staff interact with the platform. For full details, visit our Security & Compliance page.

Absolutely. If your school has strict data privacy requirements, you can use partial names (e.g., "John D." instead of "John Doe"), initials, or student ID numbers. The class balancing algorithms work based on attributes like academic level and behavior — full names are not required for the system to function effectively.

Only you can access your data. Each account is isolated with row-level security — no other users can see your students or class lists. Shibutz staff do not access customer data unless explicitly requested for support purposes. We never share, sell, or rent your data to third parties.

You can delete your account and all associated data at any time through your profile settings. Deletion is immediate and permanent — all class assignments, student data, and account information are irreversibly removed. We do not retain your data after account deletion.

Yes. You can export your finalized class lists to Excel (.xlsx) format for sharing with teachers, printing, or importing into your school management system. The export includes all student details, class assignments, and per-class statistics — gender ratios, attribute averages, and friend placement scores — so you can review balance at a glance.

Currently, class lists are tied to individual accounts. To share with colleagues, you can export the lists as Excel files and distribute them. We're working on collaborative features for future releases.

Absolutely — that's what Shibutz was built for. If you've been managing class lists in Excel or Google Sheets, you can import your existing student data directly. Most schools complete the transition in under 30 minutes. Our getting started guide walks you through the entire process step by step.

Our support team is here to help! You can:

• Email us with questions
• Get assistance with using the software
• Receive help with importing your student data