Dear Deans, Directors, and Department Heads,
As the chair of the Illinois Space Advisory Committee, I write to inform you that, we, as a campus, are approaching a critical time for classroom availability. In Spring 2020, approximately 15 general assignment classrooms will be “offline” for a period of two years. This is a significant number of classrooms considering an already high demand and usage rate for classrooms during peak times (10am – 2pm).
Efficient classroom scheduling is essential to finding classrooms for over 11,000 sections each semester. In addition, we need to maximize these efficiencies to support taking classrooms “offline” for renovations and upgrades that will significantly enhance the learning experience.
As campus approaches this space crunch, I ask for your help in urging your departments to look critically at their schedule plans. We know that creating the class schedule is a complex process involving many factors. What classes are we offering? What should the enrollment cap be? Do we save seats for a particular program? Do we have enough TAs for larger sections? Are we offering classes at times that don’t conflict with other classes students need?
Additional challenges arise when determining where a class will be taught. Do we have the right classroom for the type of teaching we plan to do? Is the classroom big enough for anticipated growth? Demand exceeds supply for some classroom assignment situations. Too often, instructors teach in whatever room is available rather than a more desired classroom.
Below are a few things that will help maximize classroom availability and student scheduling options. I ask that you share these with your department heads and those directly involved with creating the class schedule.
1). Adhere to Standard Teaching Times. Course offerings should adhere to approved teaching patterns with few exceptions. These times are: 50 minute sessions MWF starting on the hour and 75-80 minute sessions on TR from 8-9:20am, 9:30-10:50am, 11-12:20pm etc. Why do this? As an example, scheduling an 80 minute class at 11am-12:20pm MW, out of the standard teaching time, means you will block 2 hours of classroom space but don’t need 40 minutes of the second hour. This wastes the classroom for the remainder of the noon hour (a very popular time). It also means that students need two blocks of time to take that class instead of one. (See Course Scheduling policy in the Campus Administrative Manual)
2). Extend the teaching day. Consider increasing late afternoon and/or evening courses.
3). Teach across all 5 days. Schedule classes Monday thru Friday, not just Monday thru Thursday.
4). Evaluate the percentage of courses offered during peak times—10am-2pm and increase the percentage of courses offered at non-peak times.
5). Explore options to teach in a hybrid manner. Using a physical classroom for one session and online platforms for another session, allows for matching with other courses that have alternate scheduling, maximizing classroom use.
Managing our classroom usage is a shared responsibility. If you have questions about how to improve your department’s scheduling efficiencies, the Office of the Registrar is available to assist. Contact Associate Registrar, Kristin McMurray at kduitsma@illinois.edu, for the opportunity to discuss further.
Cheryl Hanley-Maxwell, PhD.
Illinois Space Committee Chairperson