Course Section Scheduling

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C O N T E N T S

Scheduling Timeline

• Academic Scheduling Calendar

Scheduling Procedure

• Adding Sections
• Adding Selected Topics Sections
• Adding Travel Sections
• Changing Sections
• Cancelling Sections
• Assigning Locations to Sections (including 25Live instructional videos)

Scheduling Policies​

NOTE: The following policies have been moved to the new Curriculum Policy page : Minor Changes to a Course, Course Numbering, Course Types, Guidelines for Courses in Critical Studies & Courses Intended for CS Credit, Contact & Credit Hour Definition, Delivery Methods, and Instructional Methods.

• Academic Priority to Locations
• Section Cancellation due to Low Enrollment
• Compliance Responsibility
• Crosslisting Sections
• Regular & Substantive Interaction
• Scheduling Rules

Academic Scheduling Calendar

The Academic Scheduling Calendar includes course section and academic event scheduling deadlines.

Adding Sections

Academic units submit course section addition requests to the Office of the Registrar using the Course Section Activation OnBase form. After each form has been reviewed and processed, it will be routed back to the academic unit to audit and respond to any questions. Processed sections will automatically upload to the Canvas Learning Management System and to the 25Live Scheduling System.

Prior to submitting requests, please review the following sections:

• Compliance Responsibility
• Contact & Credit Hour Defintion   
• Delivery Methods  including engagement definitions
• Instructional Methods  
• Crosslisting Course Sections
• Regular & Substantive Interaction
• Scheduling Rules

Please also note the following:

• Course section start and end dates must align with the term start and end dates. Sections are not permitted to run for only part of the term.
• Meeting times submitted for remote sections must accurately reflect synchronous meetings, i.e. meeting times must reflect when faculty and students are synchronously engaged in course content and should not include time that students are working independently.
• Course section capacities must be submitted accurately when a section addition is requested.

To add one or more course sections

1. Log into OnBase
2. Select New Form from the menu.
3. From the SECT - Course Section Documents Section, select the Course Section Activation form.
4. Complete and submit the form, which will be processed by the Office of the Registrar. An email notification will be sent once a request has been processed
5. After a request has been processed academic units must verify the request. Instructions are included in the email notification.

Adding Selected Topics Sections

Selected topics are defined as courses that address a current or timely topic, are being piloted prior to being submitted for approval as a standing course, or will be one-time offerings. A given topic may run for a maximum of three terms; any subsequent offering requires the topic having been submitted and approved as a standing course in accordance with curricular policy and submission deadlines. Selected topics proposal are reviewed by the School Director, the Director of Learning Assessment, the Dean’s Office, the Office of the Registrar.

To schedule a selected topics course

1. Submit a Selected Topics Course Section Proposal form located in:
   • The UArts Portal on the Forms & Requests page
   • OnBase, for users with access
2. Once the proposal has been reviewed, email notifications are automatically sent to the proposal author, program director, and dean’s office.

Adding Travel Sections

Faculty propose new study away courses using the Selected Topics form. However, travel course proposals have an advanced deadline. For additional information refer to the Travel Course section on the Curricular Change Information & Forms page in the portal.

To schedule a travel course

1. Submit a Selected Topics Course Section Proposal form located in:
   • The UArts Portal on the Forms & Requests page
   • OnBase, for users with access
2. Once the proposal has been reviewed, email notifications are automatically sent to the proposal author, program director, and dean’s office.

Changing Sections

After advising & registration has begun adjustments to section meeting days and times should not be requested due to the impact such changes have on student schedules.

Adjustments to course sections should typically be limited to:

• Adding or canceling course sections. Informed by section enrollments and waitlists. 
• Additions of changes to faculty assignments.
• Updates to the number of locations required for the course section.

To change one or more course sections:

1. Log into OnBase
2. Select New Form from the menu.
3. From the SECT - Course Section Documents Section, select the Course Section Changes form.
4. Complete and submit the form, which will be processed by the Office of the Registrar. An email notification will be sent once a request has been processed
5. After a request has been processed academic units must verify the request. Instructions are included in the email notification.

Cancelling Course Sections

To cancel one or more course sections:

1. Log into OnBase
2. Select New Form from the menu.
3. From the SECT - Course Section Documents Section, select the Course Section Cancellation form.
4. Complete and submit the form, which will be processed by the Office of the Registrar. An email notification will be sent once a request has been processed
5. After a request has been processed academic units must verify the request. Instructions are included in the email notification.

Assigning Locations to Sections

Location assignments for course sections are entered by academic units in 25Live. Access is restricted to designated users who have been trained by the Office of the Registrar and who have the necessary permissions assigned to their accounts in 25Live.

• Course Section Availability in 25Live
• Assigning Locations to Course Sections

Course Section Availability in 25Live

Course sections are automatically uploaded to 25Live as Course Section Activation forms are processed. Data between the two systems automatically syncs every 6 minutes. Only course sections with in-person meetings are uploaded to 25Live. 

Course sections are visible in 25Live when:

• they have one or more valid meeting patterns, i.e. a meeting day, start time, and end time.
• they have an instructor method assigned that includes an in-person meetings:
  • ILEI: Intensive Learning Experience (In-person)
  • INTIO: Internship (In-person & online)
  • LECI: Lecture (In-person)
  • LECIO: Lecture (In-person & online)
  • LECSR: Lecture (Staggered in-person & remote)
  • LECSO: Lecture (Staggered in-person & online)
  • STUI: Studio (In-person)
  • STUIR: Studio (In-person & remote)
  • STUIO: Studio (In-person & online)
  • STUSR: Studio (Staggered in-person & remote)
  • STUSO: Studio (Staggered in-person & online)

If a course section is not visible in 25Live:

1. Review the meeting information for the section via the current and upcoming section data dashboard located on the portal on the Registrar’s Refreshable Reports and Dashboards page.
2. If meeting day, start time, or end time are missing from the refreshable, submit a revision to the Registrar. See Academic Units Submit Cancellation & Change Requests.
3. If the meeting patterns are complete, contact the registrar@uarst.edu for assistance.

Assigning Locations to Course Sections

25Live Instructional Videos

Searching for Sections or Locations:

• How to search for course sections by department code, subject code, course number, and/or term. Course section missing in 25Live? See course section availability in 25Live.
• How to search for a classroom when you are assigning a location to a course section.

Assigning Locations:

• How to assign a location course to a course section.

Tracking:

• How to verify that a location has been assigned for every scheduled course section meeting.
• Looking up the status of a task request (location, resource, calendar) one by one or in batch.

Assign Locations

1. Log in to 25Live
2. From the Quick Search section, in the Event Search box, enter a course section. When entering the section do not use the asterisk delimiter. For example, enter: “AHST 101 01”
3. Select the course section from the list of search results. To limit your results to only return sections meeting in the future select the “Future Only” filter option if the “All Dates” option is selected.
4. From the Event Details page that loads, click Edit Event. The system will prompt you to select the meeting pattern for which you want to add a location when multiple meeting patterns exist. 
5. From the event wizard that loads, navigate to the location section.
6. Using the various search options, identify a suitable location for the course section
   • Location add options:
     • Request: location request will need to be approved by the person(s) responsible for that location before it is assigned to the course section.
     • Reserve: location request does not require approval and will be assigned to the course section after the event is saved.
     • Request Available / Reserve Available: the requested location is not available for all meeting times. Click conflict details to see which days the location is not available. When assigning a location to a course section that isn’t available on all meeting days, one or more additional locations must be assigned.
7. Click Save 

Important Considerations

• 25Live only sends location assignments back to the Colleague database. It is critical that academic units never alter any other information about a course section in 25Live. To add, change, or cancel a course section see the associated section.
• Only one location can be assigned to each meeting pattern for a course section. When more than one location is assigned only one location will be sent back to Colleague. This limitation is due to how the data is stored in Colleague, 25Live does not prevent a user from adding additional locations. If multiple locations are assigned to a single meeting pattern they will periodically be deleted and overwritten as part of the integration between the Colleague and 25Live databases.
• Locations with outstanding requests appear as available in 25Live, i.e. locations will appear as available, including no reference to a pending request, until and unless the pending request is approved.
• 25Live will not prevent a location from being assigned to a section even if the section capacity exceeds the location capacity. The system will display an alert in red text that the room capacity is lower than the expected head count.
• When a location is not available for every occurrence, it is important to communicate to faculty and students the days and locations when a course section will meet in an alternate location. To reserve alternate locations on days that a primary location is unavailble a separate event request should be submitted using the event type: Class Meeting (ad hoc only).

Academic Priority to Locations

Priority access to academic locations is reserved for academic units to schedule course sections and academic events before academic locations are available to be scheduled for other purposes. Academic priority only applies to academic locations Monday-Friday during the fall and spring semesters. Academic locations can be requested for events occurring Saturday-Sunday before academic priority has expired for the semester.

Academic Locations

Academic locations include classrooms, labs, studios, and workshops.

Non-Academic Locations

Course sections may be scheduled in non-academic locations when pedagogically necessary. However, they are not granted priority access.

Non-academic locations include:

• Art Alliance
• Arts Bank
• Beechman Theatre
• Caplan Recital Hall
• Caplan Studio Theater
• CBS Auditorium
• Chapel
• Conference rooms
• Furness Courtyard
• Galleries
• Levitt Auditorium
• Levitt Foyer
• Lobbies
• Solmssen Court

If a non-academic location is unavailable for all scheduled course section meeting days/times, the academic unit submitting the request must find an alternate location for the course section to meet on days the location is unavailable. Such requests need to be submitted via 25Live and will need to be communicated to faculty and students by the academic unit.

Section Cancellation Due to Low Enrollment

The University reserves the right to cancel a course section due to low enrollment. Care must be taken when a course section is canceled to ensure student degree progress is not delayed.

Minimum Enrollment Requirement

Course sections must achieve the minimum enrollment requirement by the final course section cancellation deadline. Sections that do not achieve minimum enrollment requirements will be recommended for cancellation by the Registrar in accordance with the academic scheduling calendar. 

Minimum enrollment requirements:

• Critical Studies course sections = 75% minimum enrollment required
• All other course sections = 50% minimum enrollment required

The minimum enrollment requirement does not apply to independent studies, internships, private lessons, mentored studio practice courses in the School of Dance, or ESL courses.

Exceptions Permitted

Academic units may exempt course sections from this policy on a case-by-case basis using one or more of the following criteria:

• Required courses, when no suitable alternative course is available, and where cancellation would negatively impact student degree progress.
• Courses with capacities exceeding 30 students, which are financially solvent to run with an enrollment lower than required minimum. (must have 10 or more students enrolled)
• Advanced standing courses, 400 & 500 level.
• Exceptional circumstances such as, but not limited to, first-time offered or program completion.

Cancellation Procedure

1. The Registrar prompts academic units to review course sections that have not achieved minimum enrollment requirements twice per term. Cancellation dates are published in the Academic Scheduling Calendar. 
2. Academic units review the Sections Recommended for Cancellation by department code component in the Section Cancellation Review Dashboard located in the Course Section Planning section on the Refreshable Reports & Dashboards page in the portal.
3. Academic units submit course section cancellation requests in accordance with the course section cancellation procedure. Academic units should cancel all sections that have not achieved the minimum enrollment requirement, excluding those for which an exception is deemed necessary. 

Compliance Responsibility

The academic unit offering a course is responsible for ensuring that scheduling is consistent with the credit hour definitions for the instruction method of the course. As part of the approval process for new courses or course revisions, credit hours are reviewed by the Office of the Registrar.

Crosslisting Course Sections

Crosslisting course sections allow two or more sections that have the same meeting pattern, faculty member, and room assignment to be associated. When crosslisting course sections one section is designated as the primary section, while all other sections are designated secondary sections.

Section Capacity versus Global Capacity

In addition to the section capacity, crosslisted sections include a global capacity. The global capacity controls the combined enrollment of primary and secondary course sections and can be set strategically to control enrollment. When crosslisting course sections, if a global capacity is not set both sections can fill to their designated capacity, i.e. if both sections have a capacity of 15 students a total of 30 students would be able to enroll in the crosslisted sections, 15 in each.

Example when section and global capacities are the same: If the section capacity of two crosslisted course sections is set to 15 and the global capacity is set to 15 a maximum of 15 students will be able to enroll in the two sections.

Example when section and global capacities are the different: If the capacity of the primary section to 15, the secondary section to 5, and the global capacity to 15 a maximum of 15 students will be able to enroll in the two sections, up to 15 in the primary section and up to 5 in the secondary section.

Primary Section versus Secondary Sections

When crosslisting one or more course sections one section is designated as the primary section. The primary section should always be the section with the lower course number. For example: If CERA*200*01 is being crosslisted with CERA*300*01, CERA*200*01 would be set as the primary section. If CERA*200*01 is being crosslisted with CERA*200*02, CERA*200*01 would be set as the primary section. 

To identify course sections that are crosslisted & review global capacity

1. Access the Current and Upcoming Section Data Dashboard, located on the Refreshable Reports & Dashboards page in the portal.
2. Scroll down to the section titled Crosslisted Sections.
3. Confirm section crosslists, including the global capacity. 

Important Considerations

• 25Live: When entering locations for crosslisted course sections, a location should only be entered for the primary section. Secondary sections will automatically inherit the meeting pattern of the primary section, including the assigned locations.
• Canvas: Crosslisted course sections share the same class page in Canvas. This is problematic if two unrelated course sections are crosslisted. Contact registrar@uarts.edu for assistance in such cases.

Regular & Substantive Interaction

Regular and substantive interactions represent the frequency and type of educational activities within remote and online classes that allow instructor and students to exchange knowledge, information, concepts, and ideas in a manner that promotes thoughtful learning through active engagement with people, content, and resources. 

All undergraduate and graduate courses offered by the University via online or remote delivery methods, in accordance with Federal Student Aid requirements for distance education courses, require regular and substantive interaction initiated by an instructor that meets accrediting agency standards. Distance education courses qualify for Title IV financial aid, failure to adhere to regular and substantive interaction requirements will result in a course being classified as a correspondence course which is not federal student aid eligible. 

Regular Interaction

Interactions must be recurring at uniform intervals. Instructional materials and faculty support necessary for academic engagement must be available for each week a term is in session.

Substantive Interaction

Interactions which promote active learning and thoughtful reflection and that provide opportunities to expand understanding and knowledge.

Scheduling Rules

The following rules must be observed when planning course section offerings. Compliance is monitored and enforced by the Office of the Registrar