Class schedule format changing

A new class schedule will go into effect in Fall 2005, bringing several new benefits, including better utilization of classroom space and the ability to accommodate about 14,000 additional student credit hours per semester.

The new class time schedule will boost classroom usage on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (MWF) afternoons. Typically, there are only about 65 sections that meet MWF at 2:35-3:25 p.m., less than 15 sections that meet MWF at 3:40-4:30 p.m., and very few that meet at 4:45-5:35 p.m. This new schedule creates three new time slots (beginning at 1:30 p.m., 3:00 p.m., and 4:30 p.m.) that may be used on Monday and Wednesday (MW), Monday and Friday (MF), or Wednesday and Friday (WF). These new slots require no greater burden on classrooms or on student schedules than the current MWF slots.

“These new slots should prove to be as popular with the faculty and students as the current Tuesday and Thursday late afternoon slots,” said Dr. Joseph Hummer, professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering, and chair of the registration, records and calendar committee. The committee conducted the study and brought the proposed schedule changes to university administration for a final decision.

Hummer added, “We might reasonably expect about 50 new sections in each of those new slots. At the current average of 31 students per section, the net effect from these 150 sections will be the ability to accommodate 14,000 additional student credit hours per semester. These new MW time slots should have an impact equivalent to adding about 15 new university classrooms. No instructor or department will be forced to convert a section meeting on MWF to meet on MW. They will have a choice, and the impact on classroom usage and student schedules will be the same regardless of which they choose.”

Other major benefits from the new schedule include:

• eliminating some of the negative scheduling effects of four-credit classes.

• significantly increasing classroom utilization to accommodate the university’s plans for enrollment growth at a time when there will be a reduction in the number of available classrooms due to building renovations.

• allowing Tuesday and Thursday classes on Main Campus to begin at 8:30 a.m. instead of 8:05 a.m. without losing a time slot.

• reducing the start-up time associated with large classes and classrooms using technology.

The lone drawback identified by the committee occurs on Centennial Campus, where the schedule on MWF will lose one afternoon class time slot, at 3:05-3:55 p.m. Hummer said this is not a popular time slot and the loss will not represent a major impact. Tuesday and Thursday classes on Centennial Campus will begin at 8:05 a.m. instead of the current 8:35 a.m.

Under the old schedule, four-credit classes overlapped two or three time slots of three-credit hour courses, consuming the classroom resources of either six or nine credit hours (and having the same effect on student schedules). The new schedule will eliminate many of these overlaps, allowing many four-credit classes consuming nine credits of classroom resources to consume six instead. The current schedule has three of these major overlaps (MWF 9:10-10:00 a.m., 12:25-1:15 p.m., and 3:40-4:30 p.m.) while the new schedule has just one (MWF 11:20 a.m.-12:10 p.m.).

Under the new schedule, a four-credit class may be scheduled for three days rather than four days each week with no overlap (for example, MWF 1:30-2:45 p.m.). By reducing four-credit overlaps, the proposed new schedule will free classroom space and will make it easier for students to construct their schedules as well.

The new schedule takes pressure off classrooms during current building renovations. During this transition period under the current schedule, maintaining the same number of classes would have required shifting some classes to unpopular late night and late Friday times. With the new schedule, more opportunities will be available to add new sections at times that students demanded.

“This new schedule will help the university maintain or even increase the number of sections being offered during that transition period in a manner that should prove popular with faculty and students,” Hummer said.

The schedule will allow Tuesday and Thursday classes on Main Campus to begin at 8:30 a.m. instead of 8:05 a.m. without losing a time slot. Hummer said the change should increase the popularity of this first time slot, when there are classroom vacancies, and should help faculty and students with child-care issues.

Hummer added that some instructors will likely shift from 50-minute to 75-minute class meetings, reducing the lost time from setting up and taking down equipment. This will complement the use of current classroom technology and plans for future increases in technology. Additionally, more 75-minute class meetings will better accommodate instructors engaged in active learning.

The new schedule included input from various campus groups, including the Associate Deans’ Council, Academic Operations Council, department scheduling officers, Transportation, and several colleges and academic departments.

Posted January 10, 2005

Return to the Bulletin homepage