Faculty Course Scheduling Policy
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Preamble
An effective class schedule is one that facilitates learning, maximizes access for students within the constraints of classroom space and the number of instructional hours available, and accommodates a range of pedagogies.
Policy
- Annually (usually December), Department Chairs provide the Registrar’s Office with the upcoming academic year schedule reflecting all courses offered, including all course dates and times, course numbers, titles, instructor assignments, curricular identifiers (course types), load and any other information requested. This schedule must include all offering and descriptive information available for a course and must be in the format requested by the Registrar’s Office.
- Classes offered by a department must be uniformly distributed over all of the available day-time class periods. For a large department, this means scheduling a section in all of the time slots and repeating the process as many times as necessary. For example, if your department offers 20 sections in a term, no time slot should be used more than twice. Grouping classes in a limited number of time slots is not permitted.
- To ensure that each class meets pre-existing contact hour requirements, each section must adhere to the class schedule time block guidelines. Scheduling outside of the guidelines is allowed only under extenuating circumstances and must be in compliance with NYSED regulations for contact hours, only then can they be considered/approved by the Dean of Academic Affairs. All submitted classes will be reviewed by the Registrar’s Office to ensure scheduled contact hours are in compliance with NYSED regulations. If contact hour requirements are not met, the Registrar’s Office will contact the Department Chair to alter the schedule and ensure the class is offered in a manner that ensures compliance.
- No classes, studios or laboratories may be scheduled during common hours. These times have been reserved for meetings or other events.
- The Registrar’s Office will factor in the pedagogical and technological needs and expected enrollment of classes to assign all classrooms. Classrooms requests submitted with course schedules will be taken into consideration, but are considered requests only and are not guaranteed – courses are scheduled based on the needs of the overall academic program, and not the individual instructor. Once these classrooms are assigned, no class will be moved to another classroom except for the following conditions:
- The enrollment exceeds the classroom capacity
- ADA issues of faculty or students
- Demonstrated Distance Learning need for a class
Class Period Allowances & Schedule Blocks
Scheduling policy explicitly dictates when and how courses are to be scheduled based on number of credits.
Course Schedule Template
Department Chairs are required to use the Course Schedule Template for annual schedule submissions. Any changes to the annual submission must be requested using the form at the bottom of this page.
Access the Course Schedule Template from the Department Chairs Shared Drive. Contact the Registrar’s Office if you need help accessing this drive.
Schedule Verification
Course schedules are verified by Department Chairs twice a year after the initial academic year submission provided to the Registrar’s Office in December, at least five weeks prior to the start of each registration period, to ensure the schedule posted online is accurate. During verification, Department Chairs may request course changes like day/time and room. Courses may also be added or removed during verification.
Following verification, requests for classroom changes must occur at least 20 business days prior to the start of registration or 5 days prior to the start of classes to allow ample time to accommodate the request and to notify students of the change. Changes must be requested by the Department Chair to the Registrar’s Office and be submitted through the online change request form:
Guidelines for Cross-Listing, Corequisites, Linked, and Stacked Courses
Cross-listing occurs when the same course is offered under two or more different course codes or departments but shares the same instructor, content, and meeting times. Students from different disciplines can enroll under the course code relevant to their program.
When to Use:
When the course content is interdisciplinary and relevant to students in multiple departments or programs (e.g., Sociology and Political Science).
When the course satisfies requirements in different majors or minors, allowing students from various academic programs to take it for credit.
Note: Please note that cross-listed courses may not automatically apply toward a student’s program requirements. Manual adjustments may be needed to ensure the course is properly counted.
Corequisites are courses that must be taken simultaneously because they are designed to complement and reinforce one another. Corequisite courses typically involve linked theoretical and practical components (e.g., a lecture course with a required lab).
When to Use:
When understanding of the content in one course is dependent on concurrent enrollment in another (e.g., a Biology lecture paired with a laboratory course).
When skills or knowledge acquired in one course immediately support work in another (e.g., a Math course that provides the foundation for a concurrent Physics class).
Note: Corequisite requirements should be clearly communicated to students during the registration process.
Linked courses refer to two or more courses that are tied together by shared themes, assignments, or discussions but may have different instructors or class schedules. They are designed to provide students with an integrated learning experience across disciplines.
When to Use:
When the learning experience benefits from interdisciplinary collaboration and integrated teaching across courses (e.g., a linked Literature course and History course exploring the same historical period).
When two courses complement one another but are not required to be taken together, giving students the flexibility to take one or both.
Note: Linked courses are often recommended together but not mandatory like corequisites.
Stacked courses involve offering multiple levels of the same subject (e.g., undergraduate and graduate) in the same class session with the same instructor but with different expectations, assessments, and outcomes based on the course level.
When to Use:
When course content overlaps significantly but student outcomes differ by level (e.g., advanced undergraduate and graduate students in a shared seminar).
When there is limited faculty or room availability, and combining sections allows more efficient use of resources.
Note: Faculty should ensure differentiated learning outcomes and assignments for each level to maintain academic rigor appropriate to undergraduate vs. graduate study.
Schedule Change Requests
This form must be used to request any changes to courses outside of regularly scheduled submission and verification periods. Note that all changes must be received at least 5 business days prior to the start of each registration period, or, following the close of a registration period, 5 days prior to the start of the term in which the course being changed is offered. Requests received within the 5 day window will not be honored. Requests submitted via email will not be honored. All requests must come from the Chair of the Department in which the course is offered.
Schedule Change Request FormResolution of Issues Related to the Policy
Any conflicts not resolved using the above guidelines will be settled by the Assistant Provost for Academic Affairs in consultation with the Registrar’s Office.
Office of the Registrar
Contact the Registrar’s Office if you need help.