Scheduling Classes

Information on scheduling classes and classroom spaces

Course Scheduling Guidelines for Department Chairs and Program Directors

1. Schedule holistically: Construct your schedule from the perspective of the entire department or program, not simply as an aggregation of individual instructors’ preferences.
2. Spread classes throughout the day and week: Consider using as many time blocks in the schedule (between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.) as possible.
3. Obtain prior approval for exceptions to standard blocks: In order to maximize room availability for all courses, classes scheduled outside of the standard approved options listed above, including classes with four meeting times per week, must be approved by the Registrar’s office for each semester.
4. Avoid overburdening popular blocks: The most congested times for classes are MW 1:30-2:45, TR 10:50 to 12:05 and TR 1:30-2:45. Please avoid scheduling multiple classes during these blocks, unless absolutely necessary.
5. The MW/WF/MF 10-11:15 and 11:30-12:45 blocks are open only to courses that require a seminar setup for 20 or fewer students.
6. The standard 3-hour seminar blocks are on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons and Monday through Thursday evenings. Three-hour blocks on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons are open only to labs or other courses that do not require use of a standard classroom.
7. Scheduling for First-Year Seminars:
   • MW/WF/MF 10-11:15 and 11:30-12:45 should be avoided for first-year seminars to avoid scheduling conflicts.
   • In order to maintain regular contact with first-year students in their first-semester, first-year seminars should avoid scheduling during one day per week blocks, including evenings.

Helpful Scheduling Tips

• Utilizing early morning blocks: First-year students are accustomed to early morning classes, so consider scheduling First-Year Seminars and introductory classes early in the day. In particular, TR 8-9:15 is an underutilized block which does not conflict with the many popular science and math morning lectures.
• Scheduling three hour seminars: Monday and Wednesday afternoons are far more congested than Friday afternoons. Please consider using Friday afternoon or Monday-Thursday evening blocks.
• Scheduling twice per week seminar blocks: Because TR afternoons are very congested, please consider using the evening blocks MW 6:30-7:45pm, MW 8-9:15, TR 6:15-7:45, TR 8-9:15.

Classroom assignments before the term begins

After pre-registration closes, and prior to the beginning of each term, a survey is sent to all  faculty members so that they can communicate any unique classroom requirements (e.g. MAC or PC projection, seminar tables) for the upcoming term.  These needs, along with the enrollment limit of the course, are taken into consideration when the final assignments are made.

Cyndi Van Doren, associate registrar, coordinates classroom assignments and changes before the term begins through add-drop, and schedules classrooms for final exams.

Classroom requests after add-drop

After add-drop, all requests for use of classroom space are made through Ilda Ramos, assistant director of college events and conferences. Teaching Assistants should address their requests for rooms as early as possible. Faculty and staff may browse for space and request rooms using the Event Management System.

Cyndi Van Doren, associate registrar, [email protected]
Ilda Ramos, assistant director of college events and conferences, [email protected]