Class and Classroom Scheduling Policy

Goal

The goal of class and classroom scheduling is to make the most efficient and effective use of instructional days and classroom space to meet the needs of students and faculty, and to support the mission and vision of Syracuse University.

Class Scheduling Objectives

• Maintain a traditional MWF 55-minute and TTh 80-minute class meeting pattern, but with additional 80-minute meeting times on MW and WF, to accommodate pedagogical preferences of faculty.
• Minimize time conflicts in class offerings to facilitate students’ registration both for required courses and for inter-disciplinary sampling of courses.
• Create continuous time periods for faculty research, writing, consultation, and student advising.
• Comply with NYS instructional contact hour requirements.
• Apply scheduling policies in a consistent and equitable manner across departments and colleges, while maintaining flexibility to accommodate special needs and circumstances.
• Allow for exceptions deemed to be in the University’s best interests by the Vice Chancellor.

Policies

A standard schedule is established to accomplish the goal of class and classroom scheduling as noted above. All Syracuse University classes, undergraduate and graduate, with start times from 8:00 am to 3:45 pm must adhere to the standard schedule, with the exception of College of Law classes and classes offered in an online format only. (Also see Exceptions, below.)

All classes are expected to meet the minimum New York State Dept. of Education (NYSED) course contact requirement and SU guidelines.

NYSED contact minute requirement

750 minutes = 1 credit per semester of instruction (may include final exams as well as lectures, recitations, discussion and labs) and at least 30 hours of supplementary assignments.

Senate Committee on Curricula Guidelines

In Class: 50 minutes/week/credit hour; Preparation for class: 100 minutes/week/credit hour; Lab or Studio: 150 minutes/week/credit hour

No formal schedule is imposed upon the evening hours, i.e., after 5:05 on MW, 4:50 on TTh, and 3:35 on F, to retain the scheduling flexibility desired by both the main campus and University College Continuing Education programs.

Classes meeting during the summer term are not required to adhere to these scheduling requirements. However, scheduling of summer classes is expected to adhere to overall scheduling goals and objectives.

1. Standard Class Hours and Meeting Patterns

The approved standard class meeting patterns are as follows. (Also see the Class Schedule graphic representation.)

1. 55-minute class day pattern

   The 55-minute class day pattern is MWF. There are five 55-minute time blocks (3-day meeting sequences), with the following start times. Two 55-minute blocks (8:25 am and 12:45 pm start times) are embedded in standard 80-minute blocks.

   MWF

   8:25 am

   9:30 am

   10:35 am

   11:40 am

   12.45 pm

   
   
2. 80-minute class day patterns

   The 80-minute class day patterns are TTh, MW, and WF. There are sixteen 80-minute time blocks (2-day meeting sequences). 80-minute classes have the following start times.

   							Optional
   TTh	8:00 am	9:30 am	11:00 am	12:30 pm	2:00 pm	3:30 pm	5:00 pm
   MW	8:00 am			12:45 pm	2:15 pm	3:45 pm	5:15 pm
   WF	8:00 am			12:45 pm	2:15 pm		3:45 pm

   The three "optional" time blocks identify times when courses can be scheduled, but which are not included in the distribution requirements (below), nor are they needed to accommodate the number of classes offered.

3. One-day class patterns

   Undergraduate and graduate classes meeting once per week must start at standard times. (See above for standard start times.) To the extent possible, one-day classes should meet in 80-minute increments, i.e., 160, 240, etc., beginning at the start time of an 80-minute period OR in 55-minute increments, e.g., 110, 165, beginning at the start time of a 55-minute period. (See Special Scheduling Considerations, below, for information about what types of undergraduate classes may meet for periods longer than 80-minutes.)

4. Meeting patterns for classes of four or more credits

   Courses of four or more credits may meet in one of several combinations, e.g., two 55-minute periods and two 80-minute periods, but all should be combinations of standard meeting times.

2. Distribution of 80-minute Classes Across the Week

For 80-minute undergraduate classes, departments are expected to distribute classes across the week as follows. Within some colleges, coordination may need to occur to insure that such a distribution is equitable for smaller departments.

# of 80-minute timeblocks / week	MW	TTh	WF
13	31% * (4/13)	46%* (6/13)	23%* (3/13)

* percentages in the distribution requirement are tentative, pending further review.

3. Distribution of Classes Across the Day

For 55- and 80-minute undergraduate-level classes, including 500-level and crosslisted undergraduate/graduate classes, departments are expected to schedule classes evenly across the day to prevent bunching, i.e., the clustering of courses at the most desirable times (9:30 am – 3:30 pm). Daytime classes (8:00-5:05 on MW, 8:00-4:50 on TTh, and 8:00-3:35 on Friday) should be distributed as follows.

• For MWF 55-minute classes, 20% of a department’s classes should be offered in each 55-minute time block.
• For TTh 80-minute classes, approximately 17% of a department’s classes should be offered in each time block from 8:00 am to 4:50 pm.
• For MW 80-minute classes, approximately 25% of a department’s classes should be offered in each 80-minute time block.
• For WF 80-minute classes, approximately 33% of a department’s classes should be offered in each 80-minute time block.

4. Distribution of Classes by Type

1. To the extent possible, lecture sections should be scheduled in the morning and labs and studios in the afternoon.
2. For classes meeting three times per week, recitation or discussion sections may not be given solely on Friday, but must be distributed through the week.
3. A department’s required courses, i.e., those required for undergraduate majors and minors, should be distributed throughout the week, with some required classes meeting on each day of the week.

5. Special Scheduling Considerations

1. In assigning classes to faculty, the Vice Chancellor encourages department chairs to accommodate to the extent possible any special family-related needs of faculty regarding optimal class meeting days and/or times.
2. Undergraduate classes, except for labs, studios, and capstone courses, may not have meeting periods longer than 80-minutes without approval.
3. Classes for first year students with enrollments of more than 50 must have an associated recitation or discussion section of no more than 25 students. Deans may waive the 50/25 rule for especially gifted faculty without penalty, e.g., neither the professor nor the department should be docked TAs/RAs.
4. The Vice Chancellor is particularly concerned about junior faculty teaching three days per week in consecutive semesters. In colleges or departments where both 55-minute and 80-minute classes are taught, efforts should be made to alternate faculty teaching schedules between the two-day and three-day meeting patterns to address this concern.

6. Exceptions

All classes are expected to conform to the above requirements. Requests for exceptions are subject to the approval of the dean of the college in which the department resides, with final approval of the Vice Chancellor. When an exception is requested for a class available to students outside of a department, i.e., to non-majors, the Vice Chancellor may discuss the request and its implications with the Academic Deans’ Cabinet (full Cabinet or sub-committee) before making a decision. Even with approval, the ability to schedule a class is subject to classroom availability at the requested days/times.

Once approved, an exception will remain in effect until the end date noted on the Request form. Exceptions are specific to the particular faculty member and the specific class for which they are approved. Any change in the nature of the exception or an extension of the end date will require submission of a new request.

The Vice Chancellor will periodically share information about approved exceptions with the Academic Deans Cabinet.

Adherence to distribution requirements (items 2, 3, and 4, above) will be monitored and any significant variances will be discussed by the Vice Chancellor and deans. If exceptions are to be made to those requirements, they will be documented by the Vice Chancellor, with notification to the Academic Deans’ Cabinet and the Registrar’s Office.

Procedure for faculty requesting exceptions

1. Faculty should submit a Request for Class Scheduling Exception form to their department chairperson.
2. Department chairs will submit requests for exceptions to their dean.
3. Deans should submit all approved requests to the Vice Chancellor no later than three weeks before the final class schedule is due (deadline set by the Registrar’s Office). In instances where hiring or other decisions are dependent upon approval, requests should be submitted as early as possible.
4. The Vice Chancellor will notify deans of the decision. Copies of approved exceptions will be forwarded to the Registrar’s Office.

Criteria used to evaluate requests for exceptions will include:

1. Overlapping The extent to which a requested day/time meeting pattern creates an overlap of standard time blocks will be considered. In general, overlapping, particularly of the protected 55-minute time blocks (MWF 9:30-12:25) is discouraged (see "Standard 55 minute time blocks", below).
2. Bunching The extent to which a requested day/time meeting pattern contributes to the problem of bunching, e.g., the clustering of courses between 9:30 am and 2:30 pm on Tuesday and Thursday, will be considered.
3. Embedding Embedding of 55-minute classes within 80-minute time blocks is generally discouraged. This option will primarily be reserved for particular departments offering 55-minute classes meeting more than three days per week. Although such embedding "works" from a scheduling perspective, it has the potential to create scheduling conflicts for students taking courses across disciplines or colleges. This is of particular concern for students pursuing dual programs or minors.
4. Standard 55 minute time blocks Given the small number of 55-minute time blocks, in which many required core courses are offered, these time blocks will be protected from encroachment by classes meeting for more than 55-minutes.
5. Undergraduate classes, including 500-level courses and cross-listed undergraduate/graduate courses, with the exception of labs, studios and capstone courses, are expected to meet for periods no longer than 80-minutes.

Classroom Scheduling

A policy statement on classroom scheduling will be developed and presented at a later time.