The provost's Task Force on Course Scheduling has zeroed in on a new scheduling model it believes will address student and faculty concerns surrounding the current system. Now, members of the task force continue to fine-tune the model, hoping to have it ready for implementation by fall 2004.
Judith Ruderman, vice provost for academic and administrative services, said the proposal now in consideration--one of four original proposals--is not drastically different from the schedule the University uses now, but still addresses problems highlighted in discussions with students and faculty last spring.
Ruderman said the current proposal adds more courses that meet twice a week and start later in the morning--8:45 instead of 8 a.m. In addition, the proposed schedule nests 50-minute classes within 75-minute classes and mandates how many courses can be scheduled in the prime hours between 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. The new model also has more Friday classes.
"The courses are spread out more over the day and over the week," Ruderman said, noting that this should address problems such as overcrowded buses and dining facilities, and should help ensure appropriate room assignments for each class. She added that the new schedule should also improve students' course options over the current model.
Chair of Slavic Languages and Literature Edna Andrews, who heads the scheduling task force, said students under the current scheduling model do not have enough choices for classes because everything is scheduled for the same time slots. She also said that faculty have voiced concerns about balancing their personal schedules under the old model.
"The proposed schedule goes back to addressing student and faculty needs," she said.
Ruderman stressed that the model is still a work in progress. "We will go back to the faculty and the students in their representative bodies at some point this fall to tell them about the proposed model," she said. "We're in the process of finalizing it, so I wouldn't want to say that it's all set in stone."
Over the next year, the task force will try to find an easy way for departments to schedule courses while meeting the mandates designed to spread courses throughout the week, Ruderman said.
Ruderman acknowledged that some people--like those who are accustomed to going out Thursday nights--might be dissatisfied with the new scheduling model. "There will be more Friday classes, so maybe this will keep some people from partying on Thursdays. Maybe not, I don't know," she said. "We're not out to change the culture, but simply to reap as many benefits as possible from our schedules and our resources."
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