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POLICY #6.46
SUBJECT: Academic Scheduling and Calendar

I. PURPOSE

The purpose of this Policy is to describe University policy for scheduling instructional space and developing academic calendars.

II. REFERENCES

  1. Utah System of Higher Education Policy R751 Institutional Facilities Space Utilization

III. DEFINITIONS

N/A

IV. POLICY

  1. General: To achieve optimum utilization of classroom and laboratory space, central control of academic scheduling throughout the year is the responsibility of the Registrar's Office, in coordination with the Provost's Office, according to procedures it may establish.
  2. Academic Space: Academic facilities include, but are not limited to, classrooms, studios, laboratories, reading clinics, academic centers, gymnasia, tennis courts, and the Library.
  3. Scheduling Guidelines
    1. Each program determines a Program Scheduling Contact, or Contacts who acts as the scheduling contacts for their program. All changes are made between this contact(s) and the Academic Scheduling Specialist in the Registrar's Office.
    2. Each Program, in consultation with the Dean and Provost, is responsible for identifying a pedagogical maximum enrollment for each course.
    3. Room requests are made on the basis of the pedagogical maximum enrollment being equal to or greater than 75% of the room capacity. Courses where the actual enrollment was less than 75% of the room capacity during the previous year may be evaluated for repositioning (room or time adjustment) by the Registrar's Office.
    4. Classroom space is assigned by the Registrar's Office for requests submitted prior to the deadline and based on the priorities noted in Section IV.E.
    5. The University standard bell times are:
      1. Monday, Wednesday, Friday beginning at 7:00 AM and occurring every hour (7:00 AM 8:00 AM, 9:00 AM, 10:00 AM, etc.).
      2. Tuesday, Thursday beginning at 7:00 AM and occurring every 90 minutes (7:00 AM, 8:30 AM, 10:00 AM, 11:30 AM, etc.).
    6. The matching or optimization process will take into account the pedagogical maximum enrollment, space optimization, and course needs.
    7. Whenever possible, classrooms are scheduled to minimize the distance each instructor must travel. However, maximum room utilization must take precedence. ADA considerations also guide scheduling decisions.
    8. Classes, and final examinations or their equivalent, are to be held at the times and places officially scheduled by the Registrar's Office, unless otherwise approved by the Dean.
    9. When student registration requests equal the seating capacity of the assigned room, the availability of a larger classroom must be confirmed through the Registrar's Office before additional students are allowed to register, taking the course over room capacity.
    10. All requests to change course dates, days, or times made after the semester schedule has been published in the University's Student Information System (such as BANNER) must be approved by the Program Director or Dean and sent to the Registrar's Office for review.
    11. No part of term changes are allowed once the schedule has been published.
  4. Scheduling Procedures
    1. The first draft of the schedule is provided by the Registrar's Office and developed from student program plans and from prior academic year course offerings.
    2. Initial schedule requests must be received prior to the submission deadline found on the Registrar's Office website in order to be considered during the first phase of space optimization.
    3. Class requests are evaluated based on the scheduling priorities noted in Section IV.E.
    4. Programs shall submit a full year schedule request by the deadline on the Academic Scheduling website.
      1. Fall semester is the lead semester, followed by Spring and Summer.
      2. The Registrar's Office will work with each Program to enter changes to the schedule, provide reports, identify classes not conforming to University bell schedule, and provide regular updates to the draft schedule.
      3. Submissions for the future semesters may note the faculty assignments as TBA.
    5. Curriculum changes for the subsequent Catalog must be approved by December.
    6. Any day/time changes for a scheduled course will result in the loss of the classroom to which it is assigned unless the change substitutes another course within the same Program. Class trades are subject to review and approval by the Registrar's Office.
    7. An updated schedule showing all room assignments is made available to the Program for final review.
    8. After the schedule is published:
      1. The Program Director or Dean and Registrar's Office must approve all class time/day changes.
      2. No changes to the part of term will be permitted.
      3. No changes to the course campus will be permitted.
    9. When a class needs to be canceled:
      1. The Program Scheduling Contact will notify the Registrar's Office of the class to be canceled and why.
      2. After the cancellation is approved by the Program Director or Dean, the Program is responsible to notify all students registered for the class.
      3. Once students have been notified, the Registrar's Office will ensure the students are dropped from the class and the class is canceled, and removed from the Class Schedule.
  5. Scheduling Priorities: The following priorities will be used when assigning classrooms/adjusting the schedule as needed:
    1. First Priority: Classes that can only meet in purpose-fitted venues unavailable elsewhere, or that can only be taught with fixed technology; regardless of class meeting days and times.
    2. Second Priority: Classes meeting MWF matching the standard bell schedule (e.g., 7:00 AM – 7:50 AM & at one-hour increments; 50-minute class session).
    3. Third Priority: Classes meeting TR matching the standard bell schedule (e.g., 7:00 AM – 8:30 AM & at 90-minute increments; 75-minute class session).
    4. Fourth Priority: Classes meeting four (4) or five (5) days each week that match the standard bell schedule (e.g., 7:00 AM – 7:50 AM, 8:00 AM – 8:50 AM, at one-hour increments; 50-minute class session).
    5. Fifth Priority: Classes meeting MW, WF, or MF matching the standard bell schedule (e.g., 7:00 AM – 7:50 AM & at one-hour increments; 50-minute class session).
    6. Sixth Priority: Classes meeting TR for 50 minutes and matching the standard bell schedule (e.g., 7:00 AM – 7:50 AM, and at one-hour increments; 50-minute class session).
    7. Seventh Priority: Classes meeting MW, WF, or MF for 75 minutes and matching the standard bell schedule (e.g., 7:00 AM – 8:30 AM, and at 90-minute increments; 75-minute class session).
    8. Eighth Priority: Classes meeting once per week and matching the standard bell schedule (e.g., M 7:00 AM – 7:50 AM or T 7:00 AM – 8:30 AM; 50- and 75-minute class session respectively).
    9. Ninth Priority: Classes meeting once per week at non-standard meeting times, not matching the standard bell schedule (e.g., M 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM or T 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM).
    10. Tenth Priority: Classes meeting on a sequence of days or at hours not covered in the eight (8) priority categories above.
    11. Eleventh Priority: Classes designated as test periods, supplemental instruction, and review periods, etc.
    12. Lowest Priority: Requests for classroom spaces received after the established deadlines.
  6. Academic Calendar
    1. The Academic Calendar for Southern Utah University is developed by a Committee led by a designee from the Provost's Office and includes representatives from each administrative division as well as each element of shared governance. The committee recommends the final academic calendar which is in turn approved by the President's Cabinet and Board of Trustees.
    2. The Academic Calendar includes all iterations of the calendar, including those that impact face-to-face instruction, online-only instruction, refund and registration deadlines, etc.
    3. The Academic Calendar consists of three (3) roughly equal semesters, each with two (2) equal parts of term. The calendar for face-to-face courses matches the calendar for online courses.
    4. Calendar Development Guidelines
      1. The Provost's Office will develop the draft calendar for review by the Committee.
      2. The Academic Calendar shall comply with accreditation and Federal guidelines.
      3. Committee members will work to develop start, stop, and break dates that are mutually beneficial to all Programs where possible with an overriding responsibility to students and teaching contact hours.
      4. The Provost's Office is responsible for producing and shepherding a final calendar draft through the approval process for presentation to the President's Cabinet and Board of Trustees.
      5. Once approved by the Board of Trustees, the Provost's Office updates the online academic calendar(s).
    5. Once the calendar is published, all changes must be approved through the Provost's Office.
    6. The Academic Calendar shall be developed and published on a rolling schedule, three (3) years in advance of publishing.
    7. The Academic Calendar is subject to change at the discretion of the Provost's Office in response to the needs of the campus community.
  7. Conflict Resolution: Scheduling conflicts not resolved using the guidelines of this Policy will be resolved by the Registrar's Office in consultation with the Dean of the respective College/School.

V. RELEVANT FORMS/LINKS

VI. QUESTIONS/RESPONSIBLE OFFICE

The responsible office for this Policy is the Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs. For questions about academic scheduling, contact the Registrar's Office. For questions about the Academic Calendar, contact the Office of the Provost.

VII. POLICY ADOPTION AND AMENDMENT DATES

Date Approved: January 28, 2005

Amended: January 13, 2012; March 22, 2012; August 7, 2020