Dilapidated buildings, precarious living conditions, endless school days… In October 2026, student and high school protests are bringing the learning conditions back at the center of the debate.
Behind these demands lies a question: How can we improve the daily lives of students and teachers when schools are already lacking resources?
Technology won't solve everything. It won't replace funding, teachers, or the lecture hall seats that are in short supply. But it can help us make the most of what we have.
What are the students' main demands?
Campuses and classrooms that foster learning
Enrollment in higher education continues to rise. But the infrastructure isn't always keeping pace.
According to the Ministry of Higher Education, 3,027,000 students were expected to enroll at the start of the 2025 academic year, a 20.7% increase from 2014. Meanwhile, according to the Court of Auditors, 20 to 30% of the real estate assets were in poor condition at the majority of universities examined in 2022.
Renovating buildings, modernizing facilities, and expanding capacity are therefore major challenges.
Because an overcrowded or unsuitable classroom can quickly make learning difficult. And without a budget for investments, it's hard to meet all the needs.
Affordable Education
Going to college is expensive. Housing, food, transportation… For many, managing a student budget is a daily concern.
But balancing work and school can hinder academic success.
According to the OVE’s 2023 Living Conditions Survey, 42% of students engage in paid work during the academic year. A study published by INSEE in 2009 found that the exam pass rate was 38% among students working more than 16 hours per week, compared with 66% among those who did not work.
These figures shed light on the demands regarding scholarships, tuition, housing assistance, and campus dining.
They also highlight a reality: for some students, balancing classes and a job is not a choice.
That is why it is important to offer schedules that are compatible with their constraints.
Schedules that fit a student's lifestyle
A class at 8 a.m., a three-hour wait, then one last session at 6 p.m. Who hasn't had a day like that?
A schedule may seem feasible on paper, but it can be exhausting to follow.
After class, students sometimes have to work, help their families, or simply find time to rest.
According to the survey the OVE's 2024 Well-Being and Health Survey, one-third of students report academic difficulties related to sleep.
These results call for a rethinking of academic schedules to better accommodate rest, independent study, and student life. Better class schedules are no substitute for good support, but they can alleviate some of the daily pressures.
And what about the teachers in all of this?
Difficulties in recruiting or replacing staff can also take a toll on teaching teams. When a position remains vacant, classes and assignments sometimes have to be reorganized among the staff members who are present.
But we can't expect teachers to take on everything.
Teaching isn't just about giving lectures. It also involves preparing for classes, grading assignments, supporting students, and participating in the life of the institution.
Hiring more teachers and support staff would allow for a more even distribution of these responsibilities and help prevent situations where staff are overburdened.
Improving learning conditions also means ensuring decent teaching conditions, with a manageable workload and sustainable schedules.
Give students a greater voice
Who knows more about the day-to-day life of an institution than the people who study and work there?
Students are also asking to be more involved in decisions regarding their education, their schedules, and their campus life.
Consulting with them helps us better understand their challenges and develop solutions tailored to the realities on the ground.
Improving educational conditions: a matter of budget, but not only that
Renovating campuses, hiring teachers, creating new spots… All of this requires funding.
However, universities are facing significant budget constraints.
In 2025, institutions were asked to make budget cuts totaling approximately 350 million euros, according to the Ministry of Higher Education.
Additional resources remain essential. But they are not the only lever.
How can we take action right now without placing even more burdens on students and teachers?
This is where academic planning can provide concrete solutions.
How can we rethink university planning to improve daily life?
Schedules designed with students and teachers in mind
Planning isn't just about finding an available classroom for each class.
It also involves balancing numerous educational constraints: curriculum frameworks, electives, individualized learning paths, and the sequencing of lectures, seminars, and lab sessions…
And let's not forget the most important thing: the students and teachers who live with these schedules every day.
Not to mention the people who deal with these schedules every day.
In practical terms, institutions can establish rules to ensure that lunch breaks are maintained, limit off-peak hours, reduce travel between campuses, and distribute classes more evenly throughout the week.
The challenge? Balancing educational requirements with work schedules that are more accommodating to everyone.
A real headache, especially at universities where thousands of students and numerous academic programs intersect.
Scheduling software makes it easier to implement and enforce the school's rules!
Make better use of available rooms and resources
A 200-seat classroom set aside for a class of 30 students, while another group doesn't have enough space? That's the kind of situation that better planning can prevent.
Good university scheduling software allows you to take many constraints into account: faculty availability, classroom capacity and equipment, class sizes, and more…
The goal? To better schedule classes, avoid scheduling conflicts, and optimize the use of existing resources, without overloading certain rooms or leaving other spaces underutilized.
What’s next? Solutions equipped with an optimization engine can explore thousands of combinations to find the layout best suited to the school’s constraints. In particular, they help improve classroom occupancy rates while meeting both personnel and educational needs.
Of course, no software will replace a missing teacher or create new lecture halls. But making better use of existing resources can already provide institutions with greater flexibility.
Better Manage Everyday Unexpected Events
Even the best schedule can't account for the unexpected.
A teacher is absent, a classroom has become unusable, a class needs to be rescheduled urgently… For administrative staff, these changes can quickly become a headache.
And what about the students? Unnecessary trips, hours of waiting, and sometimes canceled classes.
The right planning tool makes it possible to quickly find a substitute or an available room, modify schedules without creating new conflicts, and notify the people involved.
Because managing the unexpected more effectively means ensuring the continuity of instruction while reducing everyday stress.
Check out our white paper: Simplifying the Day-to-Day Work of Academic Planning.
A Message from Adesoft
The students' demands remind us of one thing: behind every class schedule, there are people—and the future of France.
Improving learning conditions requires investment, active listening, and collective decision-making. Planning can support these efforts, but it cannot replace them.
Because a good schedule shouldn't just be feasible—it should also be manageable.