Academic Scheduling
Ensuring appropriate classroom assignments and classroom utilization is critical to the academic mission of the University. Academic Scheduling at Cornell University is a collaborative effort among colleges, schools, administrative departments, and the Office of the University Registrar (OUR).
Understanding the Class Scheduling Business Cycle
Colleges, schools, and departments determine course offerings and set class schedules in CourseLeaf’s CLSS (Section Scheduler) Module (see Systems and Integrationsfor more information) several months prior to term start. Once class schedules are submitted and validated in CLSS, OUR assigns classrooms using the optimization tool in 25Live.
It is critical for academic units to provide accurate class schedule information in advance of 1) room scheduling for appropriate placement, and 2) Class Roster publication in order to provide students with accurate information when creating their schedules.
Cornell’s schedule of classes is published in the Class Roster:
- October (for Spring)
- September (for Winter)
- April (for Fall)
- January (for Summer)
See below for additional details about preparing for class schedule and rooming due dates, and setting up schedules to support a successful student enrollment experience.
Preparation for Bulk Scheduling
Review Room Capacities
Course coordinators should review the capacities of all general purpose locations and be mindful of requested room capacity and enrollment capacities that are being listed on class sections. Properly setting your capacities helps the optimizer with room assignments and helps to ensure a successful Bulk Scheduling run.
Review Department Profile
Academic units should review department profiles to ensure accuracy and reach out to scheduling@cornell.edu with any changes by the pre-assignment request deadline. See Policies and Guiding Principles for more information on Department Profiles.
Room Characteristics
Course Coordinators can enter room characteristics (associated with 25Live room features) on class sections in CLSS. Room Characteristics should be used sparingly and only for features that are required for the successful delivery of material. Room characteristics are hard stops for the optimizer and if unavailable, could cause a class section to be left unroomed during bulk scheduling.
Spread Out Class Schedules
Spreading out class schedules over the day and week is critical for room utilization and for providing opportunities for students to enroll in classes and ultimately, make progress toward degree completion. See Objective 3, “Class Distribution” for Academic and Event Scheduling Policy requirements.
Additionally, course coordinators can support efficient scheduling by looking for opportunities to pair meeting patterns for “short session” classes, and classes that meet one day per week.
Pre-Assignment Requests
For classes that have a specific pedagogical need, and room characteristics are not available to ensure proper placement of the class section in a General Purpose space, departments can request the class to be pre-assigned to a specific General Purpose space prior to bulk scheduling.
Course coordinators are responsible for ensuring that pre-assignments are in compliance with the Academic and Event Scheduling Policy and submitting the request to OUR’s General Purpose Pre-Assignment Request Form by the announced deadline. All General Purpose space pre-assignment requests are reviewed for compliance with policy, and approved requests are then processed by OUR in 25Live.
Academic units are responsible for working with the appropriate 25Live Schedulers to place classes into non-General Purpose spaces. These assignments take place after bulk scheduling is complete.
OUR Bulk Scheduling
OUR runs all classes with standard meeting patterns through the 25Live optimizer. The optimizer places classes based on requested room capacities, room characteristics, seat utilization targets, and Department Profiles to ensure the proper placement of class sections. Classes with non-standard meeting patterns are placed last, in accordance with the Academic and Events Scheduling Policy.