¾«Æ·SMÔÚÏßӰƬ

Nov. 5, 2021

Dear colleagues:

We are writing today with updates regarding classroom scheduling for the 2022–23 academic year and to let you know that most of the scheduling measures that the campus took during the pandemic to ensure the safety of and access to our instructional spaces will no longer be needed. However, some of our classroom scheduling challenges will remain.

Background

As announced in the August 11, 2021, edition of Academic Instruction Guidance, passing periods in the spring 2022 semester have been standardized to 15 minutes every day, Monday through Friday. This change is permanent and responds to longstanding complaints from students and faculty about getting from one class to the next in the pre-pandemic MWF 10-minute passing period. However, using a 15-minute passing time results in ne fewer class meeting slot before 3:00 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. At the same time, the number of class sections on campus continues to rise. In AY 2017–18 the average number of class sections each semester was 6589, a number that grew to 7092 in AY 2019–20. As a result, classroom space on campus, already in short supply, will be even more so in spring 2022 and beyond.

For these reasons, spaces that were departmentally scheduled before the pandemic will remain department-priority spaces in the centrally scheduled classroom pool in AY 2022–23. 

The goal is to ensure that all departments and programs have the necessary spaces to meet specific instructional and event needs while also ensuring that the campus-wide demand for classroom spaces is met. By implementing this approach across all schools/colleges and academic units, the campus will be able to significantly reduce the impact on any individual unit and ensure that the campus can meet in-person teaching needs moving forward. As always, the Office of the Registrar will work with departments to ensure that specialized needs are addressed early in the scheduling process.

AY 2022–23 Classroom Scheduling Procedures for Department-Prioritized Spaces

A department with a department-prioritized space will be able to schedule as many classes as it chooses in that space. Standard meeting patterns should be followed unless an exception has been approved. Exemption requests should be sent to the Office of the Registrar and will be considered based on pedagogy, availability and impacts on the overall schedule build. If a class does not follow a standard meeting pattern, we will ask you to use a standard start time for the class if at all possible, so as to maximize the use of the room for other, standard meeting patterns. 

Once a department has completed its initial rooming, the Office of the Registrar will assign additional classes as needed, but it will do everything possible to minimize the number of additional classes added to any individual space. A department may reserve a department-prioritized space or spaces for other departmental needs after 3:40 p.m. up until batch rooming and final schedule review are completed (approximately 3 months before the first day of spring semester and 6 months before the first day of fall semester). After this time, departments may schedule during any remaining available time throughout the day. Departmental needs include, but are not limited to, faculty meetings, guest lectures, colloquia, and academic club activities. Departmental reservations should be made through EMS to ensure that late classroom changes do not impact departmental activities. 

Looking Ahead

The importance of these scheduling procedures has been highlighted throughout the pandemic as well as in our current planning for the Hellems renovation and other future building modernization projects. Hellems will be vacated in summer 2023 to prepare for renovation work, which will begin in fall 2023 and last approximately 24 months. During this time, 28 classrooms will be offline, which equates to approximately 435 class sections per semester that will need to be roomed in alternative locations. In order to continue to deliver our curriculum across all schools/colleges and departments/programs during the renovation, it will be critical to continue to utilize teaching spaces on campus as effectively as possible. At the same time, we recognize the importance of maintaining units’ access to spaces for the non-instructional events and activities that are vital to their academic mission and their fostering of community and a sense of belonging for their students, faculty, and staff. 

¾«Æ·SMÔÚÏßӰƬ is committed to an academic scheduling model that maximizes use of instructional spaces, fosters student success and ensures equitable access to all departments. To help us achieve these goals, the university is asking that departments try to distribute their courses equally across all available time slots (peak and non-peak times) throughout the instructional day and week. 

On behalf of the Office of the Registrar, Provost’s Office, and Office for Infrastructure & Sustainability, we want to thank you for your partnership during these past 18 months, as we have worked to ensure the safety of our instructional spaces and upheld our commitment to teaching in person.

Sincerely, 

Katherine Eggert
Senior Vice Provost for Academic Planning and Assessment

Ann Schmiesing
Executive Vice Provost for Academic Resource Management