Class Scheduling

The person responsible in the final analysis for the schedule of classes in each of the units that schedules through CAS is: the division chair (Stephanie Gibson, Deborah Kohl, Fred Guy, Jon Shorr) for the CAS academic units, Beth Mizell for the ALC and the course coordinator (John Goshert, Irv Brown, Fred Guy, Peter Fitz) for upper-division core courses.

Scheduling of first- and second-year classes is coordinated in the CAS dean's office. The assistant dean determines need and monitors the schedule with undergraduate directors and chairs. Learning community courses should not be submitted to our office in the divisional schedule. Stand-alone lower-division courses that are not in LCs, however (e.g., MATH), should be submitted in the divisional schedule.

The expectation is that the responsible person (or the administrative assistant/academic program specialist) will submit a complete divisional schedule to Associate Dean Deborah Kohl (with a copy to Sonja Journee). How units work internally is their choice, but each unit (division/school, ALC, IDIS course) is required to submit exactly one schedule (i.e. in one Microsoft Excel file), compiling all the information from the various schedulers in the unit.

A complete and accurate schedule in need of no further additions or deletions, for the entire unit and for all campuses or contractual programs within it, greatly facilitates our work and enables us to give you more time. We need to avoid drib-and-drab scheduling throughout the semester. Of course, there are emergencies, and we are happy to address them.

Once the schedule has been submitted, it is assumed that:

• it has been checked for conflicts and workload requirements
• any negotiations with other divisions or areas of the University have taken place (particularly in the cases of interdisciplinary programs, upper-division general education classes, honors classes and classes cross listed across divisions or schools).

Within your unit, transferring schedule information to the Microsoft Excel template takes time. Please plan ahead so all participants in the process can meet deadlines. Please do not alter the template format so that we may cut and paste from one document to another and please be sure you use the latest version of the template.

Please use this electronic (Microsoft Excel) template for submitting the schedule to our office. To supply all of the information required by PeopleSoft for properly scheduling classes and searching the database, each and every cell of the template must be filled in properly. We can only accept classes for scheduling through this template. This template or a comparable one must also be used for adding any class later in the process.

This is what the template requires for each course (those marked + may not be left blank); this information is necessary for PeopleSoft to function properly:

• Subject code +
• Catalog number (PeopleSoft calls this "Catalog") +
• Section number +
  *see appropriate way to assign sections below
• Term +
• Course name (PeopleSoft calls this "Description") +
• Topic description (character limit = 30)
  Please write NEW if this is a new topic.
• Number of credits (PeopleSoft calls this "MaxUnits")
• Day (PeopleSoft calls this "Pattern") +
  *see allowable days/times below
  - The day is TBA when this is an independent study, thesis, practicum/internship, continuous enrollment or equivalent.
  - The day is WEB when this is a fully online course.
• Meeting start time +
  *see allowable time slots below
• Meeting end time +
  *see allowable time slots below
  - 3-credit classes meeting once a week meet for two hours and 30 minutes in 15-week semesters.
  - Science laboratory classes have a 100-minute per week lab-hour requirement in 15-week semesters.
• Bldg/Rm (PeopleSoft calls this "Facility ID")
  - a room can be suggested
  - if the class needs to be in the AC235 lab, please indicate
  - write room numbers with no space between the building abbreviation and the room number (i.e. write AC235 with no space).

• Instructor name(s) +
  Write names as last name, first name in upper- and lowercase letters (e.g. Sawyer, Jeffrey); please use STAFF if this is not known at the time the schedule is submitted.
• Class Note (PeopleSoft also calls this "Description;" character limit = 256)
  *see below for standard notes and note information
• Enrollment cap +
  Please use a realistic enrollment cap for the course so that we can assign an appropriate sized room; automated room scheduling makes this even more important. When the class is cross-listed the enrollment cap applies to this one class only, not the combination.
• Wait list cap (use zero if no waitlist) +
  *see information below about the current way wait lists operate
• Fee amount
  A list of fee-eligible courses has been sent to division chairs; if you want us to collect the fee, you cannot leave this blank and you must include the current approved amount.
• Cross-listed? YES or NO +
  - If YES, with what class(es)? (Give Hegis code, number, section.)
  - If YES, what is to be the combined enrollment of all classes?
• Department consent required? YES or NO +
  - If YES, will permit numbers be generated by PeopleSoft ahead of time? YES or NO
• Enrollment control? YES or NO +
  - If YES, you need to specifically state enrollment caps for any special subgroups and describe the subgroups accurately. In some cases the decisions about this will rest with our office. For example, 10 seats for PSYC majors; all other seats for any CPA/CAS/MSB student.

Scheduling deadlines for the upcoming semester will be e-mailed to you.

The Office of Records and Registration has established “rules” for setting deadlines surrounding the completion of the class schedule and has published those deadlines for the coming year. These are the “schedule goes live” and “registration begins” deadlines. Other deadlines for CAS are established so that the dean’s office personnel can get the work done on time and so that we can meet requirements related to textbook orders. Adherence to the deadlines is critical. All classes (including classes at the Universities at Shady Grove) are to be scheduled according to these deadlines.

Formal definitions of hybrid classes are as follows:

HYBRID: The faculty and students meet in a classroom for part of the required number of minutes; the remainder of the class is conducted online using a learning management platform such as Sakai. There are three variations of hybrid classes; these are specified below for 3-credit courses in a 15-week semester (the most common course offering at UB).

• one-third face to face (i.e., 50 minutes in the classroom) and two-thirds online
• one-half face to face (i.e., 75 minutes in the classroom) and one-half online
• two-thirds face to face (i.e., 100 minutes in the classroom) and one-third online

At present, these are the only options we will use, and the second is the most common.

The face-to-face time must be scheduled in such a way that it does not overlap other allowable class times; please contact Associate Dean Deborah Kohl about start times that work. Because of limited class space, we cannot schedule face-to-face time for hybrid classes at 5:30 p.m. unless you are offering two classes on alternate weeks within the same 5:30-8 p.m. time frame.

Hybrid classes must carry a class note so that students know at the outset how the course will be conducted and so that class hours are documented. Please see the Standard CAS Course Notes section for possible notes that must accompany a hybrid class. If classes are meeting only on certain weeks (a model we do not encourage), the specific meeting dates must be included.

The following are standard notes (we may develop more of these over time). Please type the name of the note into the template where it is called for (under Notes) and we will see that the text gets input. For non-standard notes, please type in the full text of the note. You can have notes that are partially standard and partially non-standard; you can have multiple standard notes for the same course. Any semester-specific information, indicated within brackets in the table below, will be provided in an e-mail.

Name	Text
Fee	Lab fee $[XX] (There is also a space on the template where you must provide the fee amount; this note should always appear first.)
WEB	Registration for WEB classes should be completed by midnight [two Saturdays before classes start]. If you register on time and do not receive an e-mail about your class by [the day before classes start], you should log in to UBOnline (Sakai) or call the Sakai help desk at 1.855.501.0856.
10-week	Classes meet on Saturdays: [dates of 10 Saturdays will be listed]
SG	*OFF CAMPUS AT SHADY GROVE LOCATION*
PBDS SG	*OFF CAMPUS AT SHADY GROVE LOCATION* This course will meet every weekend of the semester [will also include any exceptions to this, e.g., Thanksgiving].
WRIT 300	Students must register for the section of WRIT 300 associated with their major. Not all majors have a WRIT 300 class scheduled every semester. For details, please see www.ubalt.edu/writ300.
HYBRIDA	Class meets in the classroom as scheduled; remaining course time is conducted online.
HYBRIDB	Class meets in the classroom on the following dates at the time scheduled; remaining course time is conducted online: [dates will be listed]
Permission	Permission of [program code] program director required. (Unless the instructor has PeopleSoft security to give electronic permission, this should always be the Program Director; program can be specified.)
Honors	Permission of honors director required.
Cross-listing	This course is cross-listed with [insert full information; e.g., GVPP 348.002].

It is preferred that prerequisites be automatically enforced; please do not include a list of prerequisite information in the course notes. Students see course description, prerequisites and class note together when they do a class search.

All of these courses must require permission. We have an academic policy that says students cannot just decide on their own to take these courses. The "Day" ("Pattern" in PeopleSoft) for these courses is always TBA.

The instructor who is responsible for the academic component of the course and the grading of the students must be assigned to the course; please do not create one Independent Study section for the entire discipline. Please do not submit these courses without a faculty name; they will not be included in the schedule if you do that.

If possible, please put these courses in the original submission rather than adding them in dribs and drabs throughout the semester, especially for those programs (usually graduate) where they are taken by many students. Doing this at the outset really saves time.

You can set up a section of Independent Study (or whatever you call it) for each full-time faculty member. This is the best workload arrangement; this is the easiest schedule arrangement. Here’s an example from Interaction Design and Information Architecture:

• COSC 790.085; Independent Study (1-3); Austin, Kathleen M.
• COSC 790.086; Independent Study (1-3); Blodgett, Bridget
• COSC 790.087; Independent Study (1-3); Ketel, Mohammed
• COSC 790.088; Independent Study (1-3); Oldenburg, Aaron R.

The instructors are alphabetized at the outset and use the same section numbers all the time as new instructors are added, they are assigned section numbers .089, .090, .091 etc. This is best for graduate programs.

Please use these notations exactly as written. The pattern (day) is TBA when the course is an independent study, practicum/internship, thesis (i.e., a class that does not “meet” as a group). The pattern is WEB for fully online courses.

MON
TUES
WED
THURS
FRI
SAT
SUN

MW
TR
MTWR
SASU

WEB
TBA

For the most part, these are set by the Office of Records and Registration and for two reasons: student scheduling and facilities usage.

Please use military time so that uniform data entry allows sorting.

Day classes that meet twice a week (MW or TR) must run on this schedule:

• 8:00-9:20
• 9:30-10:50
• 11:00-12:20
• 12:30-13:50 (12:30–1:50 p.m.)
• 14:00-15:20 (2–3:20 p.m.)
• 15:30-16:50 (3:30–4:50 p.m.)

NOTE: 4–5:20 p.m. is not an option.

We must run sufficient undergraduate classes on the MW pattern and on the TR pattern so that students who go full time in the day have sufficient options. Please consider using the 9:30 a.m. time slot more frequently and the 8 a.m. time slot sometimes, too. Please also consider scheduling classes on Fridays or Saturdays.

Day classes that meet once a week (any day Monday-Friday) must run on this schedule; please consider using Fridays for once-a-week classes:

• 8:00-10:30
• 11:00-13:30 (11 a.m.–1:30 p.m.)
• 14:00-16:30 (2-4:30 p.m.)

Ten-week classes that meet on Saturdays must run on this schedule:

• 8:00-11:45
• 12:30-16:15 (12:30–4:15 p.m.)

All undergraduate courses on Saturdays must be 10-week courses.

PBDS and IDIA run Saturday (and some Sunday) classes, which meet over the entire 15 week semester. To maximize facilities usage, these classes should be scheduled according to the same pattern. PBDS must also utilize a schedule at the Universities at Shady Grove similar to the one used on campus.

For the most part, these are set by the Office of Records and Registration and for two reasons: student scheduling and facilities usage.

The following assumes 3-credit classes. If you are scheduling 4- or 6-credit courses or lab courses in the summer, you need to consult with Associate Dean Deborah Kohl about the best times.

All weekday classes meet twice a week (either MW or TR) for eight weeks and must run on this schedule:

• 8:00-10:30
• 10:45-13:15 (10:45 a.m.-1:15 p.m.)
• 13:30-16:00 (1:30-4 p.m.)
• 17:30-20:00 (5:30-8 p.m.)
• 20:15-22:45 (8:15-10 p.m.)

We must run sufficient undergraduate classes on the MW pattern and on the TR pattern so that students have sufficient options. Please consider offering classes at a variety of times so students can plan a full schedule. Please provide a solid array of summer courses so there is a variety of offerings.

The Office of Records and Registration sets section numbering rules. Multiple sections of the same course are usually numbered consecutively within each type using the week’s chronology (e.g., day undergrad classes: section 001 meets Monday morning, section 002 Monday afternoon, section 003 Wednesday, etc.). When a course is added late section numbers of existing courses are not shifted; the additional course takes the next available section number.

• Undergraduate classes
  Section number starts with 0 for a day class and with 1 for a night class; second and third digits are section count (start with 01); so we use section numbers like 001, 102, 013, 112, etc.

• Learning Community classes
  These are designated by special section numbers so that the courses in the same learning community have the same section number. These courses will be scheduled by the dean's office in conjunction with faculty members and division chairs. Consequently, do not submit these courses with the schedule you submit each semester.

• Graduate classes
  Section number starts with 0 for a day class and with 1 for a night class; second digit is 8 or 9; third digit is section count (start with 5); so we use section numbers like 185, 086, 187, etc.

• Saturday 10-week classes
  Section number starts with T; second digit is 0; so we use section numbers like T01, T02.

• Saturday classes (15-week or within 15-week)
  Follow the convention for undergrad or grad classes.

• Web classes
  Fifteen-week web classes start with WB; so we use section numbers like WB1, WB2.
  Ten-week web classes start with TW and use section numbers like TW1, TW2.

• Classes at the Universities at Shady Grove
  The first two letters denote the campus; third place is the section number for a course that meets face-to-face: Universities at Shady Grove: SGx

The limit to the number of classrooms requires us to look for alternative ways to offer classes: Use weekends, use 8:15 p.m., use hybrid classes (partially online). But please discuss any different (not previously used) configurations with Associate Dean Deborah Kohl first. At least one-third of your evening offerings should be at 8:15 p.m. Please balance your 5:30 p.m. class offerings among the four days of the week.

CAS has a policy prohibiting overloading a student into a course when there are other students on the wait list; however, please consider requesting a wait list for high-demand courses that often fill up. Wait lists can help you manage multiple sections of a course more effectively and can also indicate when there is a need to open a new section after the enrollment period is well under way.

If you request a wait list (which is accomplished by asking for a wait cap other than zero when you submit the schedule), then when the class is full (and the wait list isn’t), the student who attempts to register is prompted and given a choice to be put on the wait list. If a seat becomes available (because someone drops or the enrollment cap is raised) the next student on the wait list is moved into the class.

Please note, however, that:

• There is no way to automate the movement of students immediately from a wait list into the class if/when you decide to increase the enrollment cap.
• The move from “waiting” to “enrolled” occurs when the Office of Records and Registration runs a specific routine (generally every evening but also by special request).
• The process will not enroll waiting students who have a schedule conflict, are enrolled in another section of the course, are enrolled at the maximum credit limit (16 credit hours for undergraduate and 9 for graduate), do not meet the prerequisites for the course or have other holds on their accounts.

When he or she becomes enrolled, the student is notified by UB e-mail. (We do official University business via UB e-mail addresses; students must activate their UB e-mail addresses to participate in this option, even if they prefer to have UB e-mail forwarded to another address.)

This means that students and program directors need to understand fully how the wait lists work for their enrollment strategies not to be derailed. When the enrollment cap on a course is raised, for example, if the first student on the list is blocked because of a hold or a conflict, a seat may become available for a late comer.

Please estimate seats carefully when requesting a wait list.