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Academic Classroom Scheduling ProceduresContents:
Classroom Capacity ReportCapacity Report (PDF) OverviewTeaching facilities are a finite resource; the goal is to maximize room and seat utilization as well as apply scheduling policies in a consistent and equitable manner.
Classroom scheduling is a dynamic process requiring reevaluation of class size, equipment specifications, and pedagogical changes each term. Classroom scheduling practices are greatly enhanced with the use of standardized class meeting day and time patterns. Additionally, departments are expected to distribute their MWF and TR classes equitably throughout the week. If, for example, most classes met on Tuesdays and Thursdays, classroom demand would quickly exceed supply and student scheduling options would be very limited. It is important to spread classes throughout all class meeting time periods. While every attempt will be made to assign classrooms as requested, the Office of the Registrar cannot guarantee assignments due to conflicting requests and limited classroom resources. Every effort is made to ensure that classrooms are assigned fairly, used appropriately, and accommodate the University's academic and instructional needs.
Classroom Safety – Over-enrolling Students Beyond the Seating Capacity of the Assigned ClassroomIn accordance with the NFPA 101 Life Safety Code, 2009 edition, and the State of Texas Fire Marshall's Office, lecture halls and auditoriums have an occupant load level based on the number of fixed seats within the auditorium. Additional seating cannot be achieved through the use of folding chairs or desks placed at the back of the lecture hall or auditorium. The space provided at the back of a lecture hall or auditorium is to accommodate mobility impaired persons. Exception: an assistant for a mobility impaired individual may be allowed to sit in the back of an auditorium near that person to aid them.
Standard Class Meeting Times - Main CampusMain campus has a critical shortfall of academic teaching space. To maximize classroom utilization, standard class meeting patterns and times must be adhered too. Non-standard start/stop times disadvantage students who may not be able to add courses to their schedule due to time conflicts. Additionally, especially during the summer term, different parts of terms that don't follow the approved sessions have adverse effects on a student's enrollment verification, Coordinating Board census dates, and on student financial aid.
Standard Class Meeting Times Chart - Main Campus
Main Campus - Three credit hour classes meeting once a weekOnce a week classes are expected to use one of the following class meeting times: 8:00 a.m.-10:45 a.m.; 11:00 a.m.-1:45 p.m.; 2:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m.; 5:30 p.m. - 8:15 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. - 9:45 p.m. Some departments have numerous one day meeting classes. For those departments, these departments need to try to "balance" one day meeting classes over the entire week and at the same start time. For example, if a department schedules their one day only classes on Monday and Tuesday with class start time at 2 p.m., most likely the classrooms assigned to these classes will not have a class assigned on Wednesday and Thursday. Ideally, if a department schedules a one day meeting class on Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. - 4:45 p.m., they will offer another one class meeting on Thursday at 2:00 p.m. - 4:45 p.m... Thus by balancing classes meeting one day a week equally throughout the week, this will assists classroom scheduling in maximizing classroom utilization. Main Campus - Scheduling One hour Dissertation, discussion sections, and class labs:Dissertation or discussion sections (classes meeting for 50 minutes, one day a week) are expected to heavily utilize/schedule at non-prime class hours (e.g. 08:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m.) Main Campus - 50 minute class lectures50 minute class standard day patterns, meets three days a week MWF. 50 minute class begin times are listed below.
Main Campus - 75 minute class lectures75 minute classes scheduled on a MW or TR day pattern are expected to use one of the following hours:
Downtown Campus - Staggered Standard Class Meeting TimesBeginning Fall 2010 standard class times will be staggered between the two campuses. In other words, the normal day class start time at the Main Campus will be at 8:00am while the normal day class start time at the Downtown Campus will begin at 8:30am. There will be no staggered class times during the summer term.
Standard Staggered Class Meeting Times Chart - Downtown CampusEffective Fall 2010
Downtown Campus - Three credit hour classes meeting once a weekOnce a week classes are expected to use one of the following class meeting times: 8:30 a.m.-11:15 a.m.; 11:30 a.m.-2:15 p.m.; 2:30 a.m. - 5:15 p.m.; 6:00 p.m. - 8:15 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. - 10:15 p.m.. Some departments have numerous one day meeting classes. For those departments, these departments need to try to "balance" one day meeting classes over the entire week and at the same start time. For example, if a department schedules their one day only classes on Monday and Tuesday with class start time at 2:30 p.m., most likely the classrooms assigned to these classes will not have a class assigned on Wednesday and Thursday. Ideally, if a department schedules a one day meeting class on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. - 5:15 p.m., they will offer another one class meeting on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. - 5:15 p.m... Thus by balancing classes meeting one day a week equally throughout the week, this will assists classroom scheduling in maximizing classroom utilization. Downtown Campus - Scheduling One hour Dissertation, discussion sections, and class labs:Dissertation or discussion sections (classes meeting for 50 minutes, one day a week) are expected to heavily utilize/schedule at non-prime class hours (e.g. 08:30 a.m., or in the afternoon) Independently Taught ClassesIndependent Study, Internship, Master's Thesis, Doctoral Dissertation, and other classes that meet in an independent manner; sections are created when academic roll forward is completed. These sections will appear on the working copy of the schedule provided to the colleges to begin preparing their schedule of course offerings. The sections should be retained to meet anticipated department needs. Additional sections that the department estimates may be required during the semester will be added in Banner by department staff. Departments update the enrollment data maximum and the dates (no meeting times) in SSASECT form in Banner. Notes: Independent studies must be entered by the deadline given to the departments by Dr. Lawrence Williams. Additional section requests after the above date will be forwarded to Registrar Records Staff for processing. Special Classroom Request FormThis form is required for a class requiring a particularly equipment (e.g. white board, chalk board), a classroom layout (e.g. tables and chairs, tiered classroom, etc.). If all classes for a discipline require the same classroom feature, e-mail Classroom Scheduling, or contact Don Swinson at ext 4504, or Dave Spangler at ext 7725 so a standard room feature preference can be created for the discipline/department. The Special Classroom Request Form is submitted with the schedule when it is first sent to the Office of Academic Support and Undergraduate Studies. Special classroom requests can rarely be granted after the initial schedule submission.
Three Year Enrollment High Number (Projected Enrollment)The three year enrollment high number/(Banner field - Projected: on SSASECT form - Enrollment Details) is used by the scheduling software to determine the classroom size needed for room assignment. Thus it is critical for department to review and update this field on the class record prior to submitting the class schedule. For example, if a department needs to increase the class size because fewer sections of a course are being offered, the 3-year high will need to be adjusted. Another example is that the class is now designated as an Honors Class. The three year high enrollment number for the new Honors class would need to be adjusted. In addition, when the department academic scheduler creates a new academic class record in Banner, the class record will need to have a three year high enrollment number assigned. If not, the default size for a class is set to 30 students. If a larger classroom size is required, then the department scheduler must adjust the number on the new class record. Instructor or Student requiring Special Needs.If an instructor has a physical limitation, coordinate with Academic Classroom Scheduling so this instructor's classes are arranged and assigned correctly. Instructors with physical limitations must be identified every semester. For students requiring Special Needs, coordination is required through Disability Services . At times, it may be necessary to change classroom assignments to accommodate the student. Hybrid ClassesA Hybrid course, as defined by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), is a "course in which a majority (more than 50 percent but less than 85 percent), of the planned instruction occurs when the students and instructor(s) are not in the same place." Guideline for Scheduling hybrid classesDepartments should fill out the Authorization of Hybrid Courses form to be submitted to the On- Line Learning Office: MS 3.02.08, ext 5949.
Final Exam Scheduling for hybrid classes:
Use of Conference Rooms Accessible via Corridor for 5:30 p.m. Graduate ClassesAcademic departments that have conference rooms with corridor access should contact the Office of the Registrar to determine if these conference rooms could be made available for the scheduling of classes at the 5:30 PM evening hour. Departments have first preference for assigning these conference rooms to their own class sections, but the Registrar's Office may need any of these conference rooms that go unassigned. If the academic department decides to remove any of these conference rooms from the availability listing, they must first notify the Provost's Office and or the Space Management Office of this action for confirmation. These conference rooms can sometimes be used for other department graduate classes which in turn could free up general purpose classroom space for the assignment of undergraduate classes. This procedure is a temporary strategy to create additional classroom space for evening graduate classes until adequate classroom space exists. The conference rooms which have been approved for use at 5:30pm are: List Conference Rooms Available for 5:30 p.m. Graduate Classes
Classes without Classroom Assignments (Waiting List)Often after the initial class schedule room assignments is released, numerous classes are not able to be assigned at the requested time due to the high demand for the particular meeting time. To reduce the waiting list, six weeks before a Fall or Spring semester begins, departments will receive a report reflecting undergraduate courses with no enrollment. Departments will justify if the classroom assignment should be retained or whether the class should be closed immediately thus opening up the classroom. Four weeks before a Fall or Spring semester begins, undergraduate courses with no enrollment will have the classroom assignment removed. Classes on the waiting list will then be given priority to the classrooms made available. Departmentally Owned ClassroomsAny departmentally owned classrooms that are not assigned to the academic department's classes will revert to the Office of the Registrar to be distributed to other departments requiring rooms for their classes. Other academic departments needing academic classroom space for their academic classes would take precedence over other non-academic uses of 110 classroom space. Therefore, six weeks before a Fall or Spring semester begins, classes which are on the waiting can be assigned to departmentally owned classrooms if the day and time slot is available. Departmentally owned classrooms should be assigned (to the applicable classes) in Banner by the department as early as possible. Special Laboratory Classrooms - Department Owned SpaceDepartments that have special laboratory classrooms should assign their own classes to these rooms first when developing the class schedule. Once these classes have been assigned to their own lab rooms and these rooms are filled up, then the department can go outside their own labs for additional classroom space. Departments must be good stewards when scheduling their labs and not allow classes/labs to be assigned to general academic classrooms unless absolutely necessary. Departmentally owned special laboratory classroom should be assigned (to the applicable lab classes) in Banner by the department as early as possible. "Gateway Courses" Or "Capstone Classes"When Department's submit there class schedule, they can identify classes which have priority within their own department for the purpose of classroom assignment. This identification is intended to target courses that are "gateway courses" or "capstone courses" that are essential to graduation. The intent is not having these classes placed on the waiting list. Monitor and Management of Class EnrollmentsAll Department chairs will receive an email from the Registrar's Office reporting system to alert them when a class section initially closes due to full enrollment. Department chairs could then forward these email alerts to any staff members and/or faculty they feel requires this information. These email alerts are designed to ensure that Department chairs are made aware that their classes are closing in the event that they wish to investigate the possibility of opening up other class sections, if warranted. The newly assigned Department chairs should ensure they are on Registrar reporting system distribution list. Departments should review the Enrollment Summary Report regularly through the term registration period. Request for a Course/Class to Reduce Enrollment Lower than the Capacity of the Assigned ClassroomAfter classroom assignments are completed to a semester class schedule, a report will be provided to the departments identifying courses with an established enrollment caps. The enrollment cap report is for the department to review and adjust (when required). Depending on the level of the course, approval to lower the enrollment cap on a course/class is required to be coordinated through either the Dean of Undergraduate Studies or Dean of Graduate Studies. The form titled Request to Reduce Course Enrollment is used to add/change a class/course maximum enrollment. This form is located within the client/individual Outlook Public Folders; (Public Folders/All Folders/UTSA Forms). After approval, Classroom Scheduling will update Banner and initiate the computer program/script to update approved courses/classes to reduce maximum enrollment prior to student registration. Classroom Availability Dashboard ReportThe classroom availability dashboard report will be updated weekly once registration begins. This dashboard reflects academic classrooms available by class meeting time. Departments can see when and where classrooms are available. All dashboards can be viewed on the Registrar's Office website: http://utsa.edu/registrar/roomsched/. Departments may also request a hard copy of the classroom availability report. Small Enrollment Requiring Justification ReportsClasses with small enrollment requiring justification reports will be sent out on the third work day prior to the beginning of a Fall or Spring semester. Final determination if a class will be cancelled will be on or before the fifth business day after the start of the semester (i.e. the last day of student late registration). The small class report includes classes with fewer than 5 enrollments in a graduate course and under 10 enrollments in an undergraduate course. Departments with higher college enrollment caps should follow their college policy (i.e. COLFA caps are 7 in a graduate course and 20 in an undergraduate course). Classes With No Assigned FacultyReports with no assigned faculty will be sent to the department one week before classes begin. Final determination if a class will be cancelled will be on or before the fifth class day of the semester. Assigning Faculty to Classes EarlyIt is benefit to assign faculty to classes as early as possible. Classroom scheduling before assigning classrooms to classes will review the faculty schedule to determine which classes are taught back to back by an instructor. Attempts will be made to try to assign the instructor in the same classroom or at least in the same building. Cross-listed classesTwo or more classes meet together, in the same room, with the same instructor. A section comment must be entered for all cross-listed classes. Example: Cross-listed with POL 5203.001. Credit cannot be earned for both POL 3463 and POL 5203. No further action is required by the department for cross-listed classes. Email or call Pat Hedelius (ext. 4539) with questions about, or when making changes to, cross-listed courses. Interactive TV (AFV/AIV) classesInteractive TV classes are taught via two-way audio/video conferencing between UTSA and the Downtown campus, or an off-site location like the Southwest Research Institute. Schedule type AFV is used for one section; schedule type AIV is used for the corresponding, linked, section. All Interactive TV class sections must have comments entered on SSATEXT. Example: This section is linked to POL 4363.901 via Interactive TV. Classrooms for Interactive TV sections are coordinated through Greg Alford in Distance Learning and Academic Technology. After obtaining the distance learning classroom assignment, the department enters this room assignment in Banner as early as possible. Computer ClassroomsThe Office of Academic Computing maintains and schedules computer classrooms. A department which has a class requiring a computer classroom assignment must coordinate with Academic Computing office, Tina Elkins, ext 2642 for the room assignment. After obtaining the computer classroom room assignment, the department enters this room assignment in Banner as early as possible. Student Study DaysAt the end of each Fall and Spring Semester, two days prior to the beginning of the final examination period are designated as Student Study Days. Classes do not meet during Student Study Days. Furthermore, Student Study Days are not to be used as dates on which papers are to be turned in, examinations are to be given, quizzes to be scheduled, review sessions to be held, or for any other class related activities, other than office hours. There are no Student Study Days during the Summer Semester. — Last update: May 14, 2012 —
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