Timetable Scheduling Guidelines

The following goals have been identified for the development of the Timetable:

• All space will be assigned to view when the Timetable goes live for students to ensure students have the ability to make informed decisions regarding their individual course schedule each term.
• The Timetable will be maximized to utilize more times of day throughout the week to ensure academic space can be assigned most effectively.

Guiding Principles

• Provide students with opportunities to build a flexible and accessible course schedule that enables progress toward degree completion.
• Pay particular attention to the spread of upper‐ and lower‐division offerings, to avoid unnecessary conflicts for students.
• Collaborate with other departments when planning cross-departmental offerings to avoid unnecessary conflicts for students. Examples include co‐requisites, cohort courses, and courses required for minors.

Guidelines for Spring and Fall Timetables

1. Target course allocations should include no more than 70 percent of all departmental sections may be scheduled during “prime time,” denoted by classes starting and ending at the following times:
   

   PRIME TIME
   MWF—9:10am–2:40pm
   TR—9:45am–3:45pm

2. In order for a section to be scheduled in a campus-hosted classroom, the enrollment of the section must meet at least 80 percent of the capacity of the room. If 80 percent capacity is not met, the section is subject to relocation.
3. Sections whose capacities are set at less than the published minimum for the course level should be assigned to departmentally controlled space. If the sections are left to be scheduled into campus-hosted space, the priority will be low, and there is no guarantee that a campus-hosted room assignment will be available. (Minimum standards for scheduling are 15 for lower-division undergraduate, 12 for upper-division undergraduate, and 9 for graduate.) This does not apply to classes that begin after 5 p.m.
4. Sections that are offered at invalid start or end times will not be guaranteed to be assigned campus-hosted space. Sections will need to shift to valid class times to be assigned campus-hosted space.  Some exceptions for sections with invalid class times may be accommodated based on a holistic review by the Vice Provost, Associate Dean and Office of University Registrar.
5. To maximize available classroom space for fall and spring terms, classes meeting one day a week cannot meet in campus-hosted classrooms Monday–Friday during prime time. This includes single sections, seminars, and discussion or recitation portions of sections. Classes meeting one day a week Monday–Friday during prime time must be assigned to a departmentally-owned space before registration begins.
6. Classroom space across all of campus––including the west (agriculture) campus––will be utilized to provide efficient and appropriate classroom assignments according to all currently approved guidelines.
7. Changes made by schedulers after the timetable goes live will be limited to adjustments with no impact to space assignment.
   • Instructor assignment or change
   • Cancelation of section
   • Capacity that does not impact space assignment. Changes that result in impact to space assignments will be required to be requested through the Office of University Registrar and tracked via regular reporting.

Frequently Asked Questions