Academic Space Scheduling Policy

Policy Number: 3349-AC-206
Effective Date: 09/24/2018
Updated: 08/09/2023
Reviewed: —
Responsible Department: Office of Academic Services
Approval Authority: Provost
Policy Author: Director of Academic Scheduling, Assessment and Evaluation

A. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to define the prioritization and process for scheduling primary academic space, small group meeting space, and all other University meeting rooms that are not otherwise located within departmental units.

B. Scope

The University defines primary academic space as the large group classrooms, adjacent common spaces, multidisciplinary laboratories, and small group rooms, especially NEW Center Rooms, in which most of the University’s educational programs are delivered. The Office of Academic Services is responsible for the approval and management of primary academic spaces and small group rooms for academic use. The University, through OAS, reserves the right to use non-academic meeting rooms (e.g., University conference rooms) for the delivery of its educational programs when space requirements dictate such a need.

C. Definitions

1. “Academic Space Schedule,” formerly referred to as the Block Schedule, refers to a summary draft of academic courses, days and times the courses are offered and suggested academic space locations and is created by OAS for Curriculum Coordinators to utilize as a scheduling guide.
2. “Classroom Space” refers to a University resource allocated to and managed by OAS in the division of Academic Affairs. All academic units share access to classroom space to deliver courses.
3. “Common Spaces” refers to common corridors and atriums on the NEOMED campus.
4. “Course Coordinators” refer to staff assigned to NEOMED courses with responsibility for working with Course Directors to identify academic spaces needed for the delivery of NEOMED courses and assigned the responsibility of scheduling said space within the Outlook calendar system.
5. “Interprofessional Education” or “IPE” refers to multiple different professions learning together in any core curricular, credit-bearing activity and/or as any kind of multidisciplinary event.
6. “Office of Academic Services” or “OAS” is the University department responsible for the process of reviewing and approving all academic requests for space, for setting deadlines and procedures to fulfil the expectations of this policy and for the resolution of appeals related to disputes on how policy is applied to the class schedule.
7. “Priority Checklist” is a form completed by Course Coordinators and reviewed by OAS that documents the manner in which the academic space will be used and places priority for those courses that use the space for educational program priorities including IPE, testing, active and group learning, technology and mandatory attendance with weighting of these priorities identified by the Academic Management Partnership (AMP). See Exhibit A of this policy for more information.

D. Identification of Primary Academic Space

The University defines primary academic space as the large group classrooms, adjacent common spaces, multidisciplinary laboratories, and small group rooms, especially NEW Center Rooms, in which most of the University’s educational programs are delivered. The Office of Academic Services is responsible for the approval and management of primary academic spaces and small group rooms for academic use. The University, through OAS, reserves the right to use non-academic meeting rooms (e.g., University conference rooms) for the delivery of its educational programs when space requirements dictate such a need.

1. Large Group Classrooms and Common Spaces – The large group rooms and Common Spaces, which may not match their respective listing in the Outlook Calendar Address Book, include:
   1. Campbell Atrium (Adjacent to Meshel Hall)
   2. Liebelt Hall (E-10)
   3. Meshel Hall (R-146)
   4. Multidisciplinary Laboratories (B-145A), (B-145B), (B-145C), and (B-145D)
   5. Olson Auditorium
   6. Olson Lobby
   7. Regula Bitonte Atrium
   8. Regula Great Hall 126
   9. Regula Training 106
   10. Watanakunakorn Atrium
   11. Watanakunakorn Auditorium (NEW Center 1200)
   12. RGE 123
   13. F118
2. Small Group Rooms, NEW Center – Small group rooms in the NEW Center are reserved on a first-come-first-served basis. Requests are automatically approved or declined via Outlook email. Should a scheduling conflict arise, however, refer to Section H of this policy for process to resolve scheduling conflicts. The Outlook Calendar Address Book includes the following small group rooms and their capacities:
   1. Room NEW 2009
   2. Room NEW 2014
   3. Room NEW 2015
   4. Room NEW 2016
   5. Room NEW 2017
   6. Room NEW 2018
   7. Room NEW 2019
   8. Room NEW 2020
3. Other University Meeting Rooms – Additional meeting rooms outside of departmental units and listed in the University Outlook Calendar Address Book are available for non-academic University busines. The scheduling of these rooms is managed by the Outlook’s automated process on a first-come-first-serve basis. There may be times, however, during the academic year when it is necessary to prioritize the use of other University meeting rooms for academic purposes over non-academic purposes. In such circumstances, OAS has been charged by the University to ensure proper prioritization and scheduling of other University meeting rooms for educational program use once the Curriculum Coordinator leads have attempted to resolve the conflict and notified OAS of the unresolved matter.

E. Educational Program Priorities for Scheduling of Rooms

The following educational activities and related pedagogical uses will determine the prioritization of assignments and/or reservations of all primary academic space, small group rooms, and, when necessary, other University meeting rooms, with priority given to courses that include one or more of the items listed in this section. Core curricular credit-bearing courses and courses required for program completion will always receive scheduling priority over other types of courses.

Should a conflict between multiple courses arise where the same space is requested by multiple Course Coordinators, OAS will ask the Course Coordinators to complete the Priority Checklist to identify what, if any, educational program priorities will be used in the course. Once the Curriculum Coordinator leads have reviewed the checklist, the leads should forward it to OAS via the priority room reservation folder.  OAS will use the Priority Checklist to allocate the space and will work with the course coordinator to identify an alternate space. Refer to Section G for instructions regarding the process to resolve scheduling conflicts.

1. Academic testing – Room requirements for academic testing will be given priority in the scheduling process.  Conflicting scheduling requests for purposes other than academic testing may be denied. Large-group classrooms in high demand for the administration of examinations are Meshel Hall (Room-146), Olson Auditorium, Liebelt Hall (E-10), Regula Great Hall (126) and Regula Training Room (106).
2.  Interprofessional Education (IPE) courses/activities – IPE courses and activities will receive space scheduling priority to incentivize Colleges to work collaboratively.
3.  Pedagogy Utilizing Technology – The scheduling of academic space will be prioritized for those courses and/or activities in which the pedagogical use of technology is robust or reliant upon the technological specifications in a particular room.
4. Active learning activities/pedagogy – Courses or activities that require active learning will receive higher priority scheduling of academic space. Such activities include a broad range of teaching strategies that engage students as active participants in their learning with the instructor during the majority of the session.  Active learning teaching strategies may include small or large group activities in which students work together, and/or activities involving individual work and reflection (e.g., case studies, structured team-based learning, problem solving, paired discussions or journal writing).
5.  Mandatory attendance activities – Courses or activities for which students are required to attend in person in a face-to-face format will receive higher priority room scheduling.
6.  Class size and historical class attendance – To ensure scheduling efficiency, the class size as defined by the number of students enrolled in the course and historical class attendance, will be considered when assigning space that best matches the likely capacity for the course.
7.  Academic Space Schedule
   1. Fall and Spring Semester Timeline
      1. Beginning February 1 through March 1 of each year, all college faculty, deans, and staff will determine academic space needs and email initial requests from Curriculum Coordinator staff for the upcoming Fall semester. OAS will review all requests at the end of the two-week timeframe to confirm requests and resolve scheduling conflicts.
      2. Upon the assessment by OAS, requests will be either approved or denied in consultation with the Course Directors, deans, and/or curriculum staff.  There will be a two-week review period in which to submit academic space needs to OAS.
      3. Feedback received by OAS at the end of the two-week review will be considered a final draft and any unresolved conflicts forwarded to the Provost for review and final approval.
      4. All subsequent requests received after the two-week review process and final Provost approval will be considered on a first-come first-serve basis and based upon room availability.
      5. A final Academic Space Schedule draft will be e-mailed to curriculum deans, vice deans, and the senior executive director of academic affairs and student services with a two-week review period.

F. Procedures for Scheduling Acamemic Space

Course Coordinators may begin the process of reserving academic space from February 1 through February 15 of each year. Course Coordinators are authorized to identify needed academic space for the delivery of NEOMED courses, to submit online requests to reserve space utilizing Outlook, and to use the inventory of available academic space noted in Section D of this policy. The Course Coordinators must schedule space using the following process:

1. Identify the most appropriate spaces based on matching the space capacity to the class size and historical attendance patterns.
2. Identify spaces that meet the pedagogical needs of the course with consideration for IPE activities, technology needs, and active learning.
3. Submit academic scheduling requests for large group rooms through the NEOMED Outlook Calendar using the following procedures:
   1. Confirm room availability using the “Room Search” feature in Scheduling Assistant.
   2. Submit the online room request in Outlook, a copy of which is automatically sent to OAS.
4. Requests will be processed daily Monday through Friday during normal business hours and require 48-72 hours for processin During the semester scheduling period, processing may require more than 72 hours.
5. Requests for New Center small group rooms through the NEOMED Outlook Calendar should use the following procedures:
   1. Confirm room availability using the “Room Search” feature in Scheduling Assistant.
   2. All small group room requests are reserved via NEOMED’s online system as received on a first-come-first-served basis. The room request will be automatically approved or declined via Outlook email.Mandatory attendance activitiesCourses or activities for which students are required to attend in person in a face-to-face format will receive higher priority room scheduling.
6. Should a space be requested by multiple course coordinators, OAS will request a Priority Checklist to identify which course will be given preference for the space. The established University priorities outlined in Section E will be applied to all room requests. OAS will work with the Course Coordinators leads to identify the next best option for an alternative space if the initial space request is denied.
7. No room reservation is final until the Academic Schedule has been published.
8. There is no guarantee for the availability of space for reservations made after the approved deadline dates established by OAS.
9. Requests for any special set up needs should be forwarded as follows:
   1. Standard set up for small group rooms is in a small/individual group format. For rooms in which wall movement is available and required, add vmansfield@signetre.com to the Outlook invitation and add instructions to the Notes section. Walls will be removed 30 minutes before and returned to standard set up 15 minutes after the class. Please be sure that the room is available before the class begins for any advanced set up needs.
10. Requests for Campbell Atrium, Watanakunakorn Atrium and Olson Lobby should be submitted via Conference Services work order.
11. Instructors or departmental staff may not move their class from an assigned room to an unassigned room or override another department’s assignment without prior approval from In the event OAS cannot resolve the issue of reserved space with a reasonable compromise among interested parties, resolution will be sought following the procedures in Section I regarding the process to resolve scheduling conflicts.
12. In the event of an emergency evacuation, or if a classroom becomes unusable, OAS will make every attempt to relocate classes to a temporary, comparable space.
13. Assistance with room scheduling procedures through Microsoft Outlook can be obtained by contacting the NEOMED Help Desk. Specific questions regarding room scheduling for academic purposes should be directed to OAS.

G. Process to Resolve Scheduling Conflicts

1. Requests that result in scheduling conflicts will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by OAS in consultation with Course Directors and/or curriculum staff and with preference to requests that meet the University scheduling priorities stated in Section
2. Course Coordinator leads with scheduling conflicts will be asked to complete the Priority Checklist to identify the University scheduling priorities that the course fulfills. The Priority Checklist will be used by OAS to identify the preference given.
3. OAS staff will make every effort to determine a comparable space resolution to accommodate curricular needs. When it is deemed appropriate by OAS staff and the course director, the academic activity may be rescheduled.
4. In the event OAS cannot resolve the issue of reserved space with a reasonable compromise among interested parties, resolution will be sought through an appeal to the Provost who is the final authority for determining the use of primary academic and University space.
5. If no academic space is available due to a conflict regarding multiple requests for the same space, the Provost has the authority to request that the course time and/or date be changed to the next most agreeable time/date upon discussion with the course director and coordinator. Web conferencing technology may also be considered as an available alternative to an in-person class.
6. When conflicts arise for testing use, the following processes will be implemented:
   1. Requests for any classrooms or meeting rooms that were previously approved may be subject to rescheduling during periods of active examination administration. A notice of availability or non-availability will be processed through Outlook Calendar and requestors will receive notification via Outlook e-mail.
   2. In the event that small group curricular activities are scheduled in any of the large group rooms and a course lecture or testing need arises, OAS staff will make every effort to resolve the academic space conflict, in consultation with the course director/s, to accommodate the small group activities.

Download the Policy*

Download Appendix A*