Course Scheduling Policy for Cambridge Campus

These guidelines are in place to accommodate students and ensure that courses in degree programs receive priority assignments during the scheduling process. Classroom assignments are made in accordance with established University policy as follows:

• Threshold courses between 8:00 am - 3:50 pm and 6:45 - 9:15 pm
• Art Institute of Boston and Lesley College courses between 8:00 am - 3:50 pm
• Graduate school courses
• Adult Learning Division courses
• Art Institute of Boston and Lesley College courses offered after 4:00 pm
• Centers and Institutes courses
• Continuing Education courses
• Breakout rooms for graduate and undergraduate courses
• Special Events - non-academic

Time Zones

Note: courses offered over the weekend at the Ludcke Library must have a 9:00 am start time.

Responsibilities

The Office of the University Registrar is responsible for the scheduling and utilization of space in the classroom pool. The Assistant Registrar for Scheduling will provide an annual timeline establishing production dates [xls] for the semester Course Schedule.

Schools/departments are responsible for determining course offerings and for timely input of course section information (no later than the deadlines specified in the schedule production timeline [xls]). Sections added or changed after the published deadlines will be assigned on a space-available basis. Course sections not added to to Colleague within the established time frames may be left out of the semester course listing provided to advisors, and may be unavailable for viewing in Current Course Information on LOIS.

Schools/departments are responsible for providing a schedule coordinator to work with the Assistant Registrar for Scheduling, and all requests regarding classrooms are to be made by the coordinator.

Each department is required to notify the Assistant Registrar for Scheduling of cancellations as soon as decisions are finalized.

Scheduling Policies for Schools/Colleges/Programs

• Assignments for the graduate schools (GSASS and SOE) will alternate based on a predetermined cycle: in even calendar years GSASS courses will receive the first assignment; in odd calendar years, SOE courses will be assigned first.
• All on-campus course offerings should follow the established time zones with daytime classes ending by 3:50 pm and evening courses scheduled between 4:00 - 6:30 pm or 6:45 - 9:15 pm.
• Schools/colleges should utilize all days of the week when scheduling courses. Monday through Thursday should reflect an equal number of course offerings. For each 4:00 - 6:30 pm course, schools/colleges should offer a corresponding 6:45 - 9:15 pm course.
• Lesley College should limit the number of evening courses to the minimum required for programmatic offerings. This excludes Adult Learning Division courses traditionally offered in the evening hours.
• Threshold courses offerings should be scheduled between 8:00 am - 3:50 pm and between the hours of 6:45 - 9:15 pm.
• Efforts should be made to schedule start dates for 50% of on-campus weekend courses during the first month of the semester, e.g., September or January/February. The remaining 50% of weekend course offerings should be scheduled to begin in October or February/March to avoid conflicts and maximize classroom utilization.
• Courses may not overlap time zones.
• The Assistant Registrar for Scheduling is to be notified if less classroom space is needed, and immediately upon cancellation decisions.
• Centers and Institutes should coordinate the planning and scheduling of courses within their departments. In order to ensure adequate classroom availability, seminars requiring multiple breakout rooms should not be scheduled concurrently.
• To fully utilize classroom space, efforts should be made to schedule Centers and Institute courses spanning non-peak times, e.g., January mini-semester, Spring Break, and during the months of May and August.
• Centers and Institutes holds priority for reservations in UNIV 2-150 (University Hall Amphitheatre, 2nd floor) between the hours of 8:00 am - 3:50 pm After 4:00 pm, UNIV 2-150 may be assigned as general classroom space.
• The MFA Residencies should establish a set schedule to offer their programs. Following this pattern will allow other programs the opportunity to plan their schedules accordingly for the remainder of the semester.
• Non-credit sections are assigned a room after all credit courses have been assigned.
• Faculty may request a room change, through their scheduling coordinator, anytime prior to the end of the add/drop period. The scheduling coordinator must check the availability of the room (using WebViewer) to ascertain that it is free for every class meeting. If the space is available, the coordinator may submit a request using a course change request form.
• Room assignments will be changed only between the start of the semester and the last day of add/drop. Room assignments will be changed only if the requested space is available for all class meetings. Changes will be made in the order in which they are received.