Course Request Form (XLS)

Scheduling Guidelines

(Effective 08/18/2022)

I. Adherence to the guidelines outlined below are required by the Provost’s Office.

II. Rather than rolling existing schedules for the next academic term, departments should anticipate a minimum 5% increase in enrollment each term and plan accordingly.

III. Departments that have experienced significant enrollment increases in a prior semester should make adjustments to existing schedules to meet the needs of students who will be progressing to degree completion.

IV. Departments should make certain to schedule courses so that all students have an opportunity to graduate in the time period monitored by state and federal authorities.

V. Departments should use the wait-list function for courses (when the nature of instruction is appropriate) so that additional enrollment opportunities are available to students. Deans and department heads should monitor the wait list demand and should consider creating additional sections when there are 10 or more undergraduates or five or more graduates on a wait list.

VI. Scheduling lower-division courses for delivery on a blended/hybrid or online format, requires approval of the dean or interim school director, via a memorandum justifying this delivery format, especially for core curriculum courses.

VII. Enhancement of a face-to- face course with online materials to supplement, but not substitute, for face-to-face instruction, requires no approval from the dean/school director. Code these classes as enhanced (E) classes in the schedule.

VIII. Courses scheduled between the times of 8:00 am and 12:30 p.m. should be on a standard MWF or TR schedule, in one hour and one hour and fifteen minutes increments, respectively. In short, there should be no MW classes scheduled between 8 am and 12:30 p.m. Sections should be evenly balanced between MWF and TR, especially for University Studies courses.

IX. Where significant pedagogical reasons for deviating from the standard schedule exist, departments must request a written authorization to do so. The request must be submitted to the dean, using a memorandum, prior to the deadline for submitting the schedule. If approved, the memorandum bearing the signature of the dean signifying approval will be attached to the schedule itself, when it is submitted to the dean. All changes (adds, deletes, instructor, type of class, number of seats, etc.) must be submitted through the dean’s office for approval. The Office of the Registrar will not update or accept any changes via email or phone without dean’s approval.

X. Classes that include a lab or are four Semester Credit Hours (SCHs) are exempt from the requirement of requesting pre-approval by the dean/school director. Likewise, classes that meet for one SCH, for variable SCHs, or that are scheduled outside the MWF/TR schedule are exempt from said requirement.

XI. Departments should make every effort to spread courses throughout the schedule to maximize classroom utilization. When options for adequate classroom size are limited, please consult the Registrar’s Office for suggestions.

Guidelines for Maximizing Base-Period Funding
In the Spring Semester of even number years, departments should plan to maximize base-period funding by scheduling high-weight courses beginning after the 12th class day of that semester and ending at the close of the regular semester.

Verification
The Dean’s Office will provide the Provost’s Office with a preliminary schedule prior to schedule entry and the Provost’s office will verify that all guidelines have been followed before the schedule is entered. In addition, the faculty workload report will be reviewed for alignment with the schedule and approved by the Provost’s Office.