Hartwick college

Preamble

An effective class schedule is one that facilitates learning, maximizes access for students within the constraints of classroom space and the number of instructional hours available, and accommodates a range of pedagogies. In developing the class schedule for students and instructors, the following goals must be balanced:

• Classes should be scheduled to make the best possible use of teaching resources and classroom facilities.
• Students should be able to take classes needed to graduate in their program in a timely manner.
• Classes should be scheduled to allow students as much choice as possible and to avoid as many class conflicts as possible.
• Instructors should be able to obtain schedules that permit them to integrate their professional duties of teaching, research and service in a reasonable way.
• In scheduling classes, the College must, if requested to do so, make accommodations in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
• Demand for classes should be measured, and classes and class sections should be scheduled, to reflect that demand.

Policy

• Classes offered by a department must be uniformly distributed over at least 14 of the 16 available day-time class periods [Click here to view current course scheduling class period allowances]. For a large department, this means scheduling a section in 14 (or 15 or 16) of the time slots and repeating the process as many times as necessary. For example, if your department offers 18 sections in a term, no time slot should be used more than twice. Grouping classes in a limited number of time slots is not permitted.
• To ensure that each class meets pre-existing contact hour requirements, each section must adhere to the class schedule time block guidelines. Scheduling outside of the guidelines is allowed only under extenuating circumstances and must be approved by the Dean of Academic Affairs.
• No classes, studios or laboratories may be scheduled between 12:20 pm and 1:50 pm on Monday or after 3:50 on Friday. These times have been reserved for meetings or other events.
• The Registrar will factor in the pedagogical and technological needs and expected enrollment of classes to assign all classrooms. Once these classrooms are assigned, no class will be moved to another classroom except for two conditions:
  • The enrollment exceeds the classroom capacity
  • ADA issues of faculty or students

Requests for classroom changes must occur at least 5 business days prior to the start of a class to allow ample time to accommodate the request and to notify students of the change.

• Classroom space that is specialized in nature (e.g., language labs, science or computer labs, etc.) is normally reserved for use by specific academic departments using the space for its instructional activities. Such space is not typically available for use by other academic units. Unless otherwise noted, regular lecture classrooms cannot be "reserved" by an academic department.
• Academic departments are not permitted to schedule classes into non-classroom spaces on campus (conference rooms, lounges, special meeting spaces, etc.).
• Schedules as submitted to the Registrar by departments will not automatically be honored. The Registrar reserves the right to accept or reject schedules based on adherence to the aforementioned scheduling policy.
• Classes and final examinations are to be held at the times and places officially scheduled by the Registrar.

Resolution of Issues Related to the Policy

Any conflicts not resolved using the above guidelines will be settled by the Dean of Academic Affairs in consultation with the Registrar.