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Cornell University

Policies and Guiding Principles

Policies and guiding principles that support best practices and successful Academic Scheduling.

University Policies

Guiding Principles

Department Profiles

To ensure proper placement of class sections across the Ithaca campus, the Office of the University Registrar (OUR) maintains department profiles. The 25Live optimizer relies on these profiles in order to place classes in the appropriate vicinity of each department.

The configuration described below, and endorsed by the University Space Use Advisory Committee, aims to increase the effectiveness of the algorithm while supporting the sense of community provided by proximity to the department’s “home building”.

The Department Profile configuration in the scheduling system is composed of four tiers:

  • Tier 1: Department discretion - contains the department’s home building; may include any surrounding buildings within 5 minute travel time of home building.
  • Tier 2: Department discretion – may include any surrounding buildings within 5 minute travel time of the department's home building.
  • Tier 3: Must include “neighboring” buildings that aren’t already in Tier 1 or 2 that are within 5 minute travel time of department’s home building; may also include additional buildings at the department’s discretion.
    • The application of “neighboring” roughly equates to a distance of 1/8mile, and generally includes buildings within an academic quad or with doors that are reasonably navigable from the doors of the department home building.
  • Tier 4: Reserved for administrative purposes to accommodate optimization for exams.

Roles and Responsibilities 

The below is a high-level overview of the responsibilities and the agreement that are shared between the colleges, schools, and departments with the Office of the University Registrar (OUR) to ensure the successful scheduling of classes each term.

College, Schools, and Departments

  • Adhere to University scheduling policies and procedures
  • Determine course offerings and class schedules, while mindful of “20/30/30/20” distribution requirements outlined in Objective 3, "Class Distribution" of the Academic and Event Scheduling Policy
  • Work with the Office of the University Registrar and other colleges/departments to resolve critical class scheduling issues and challenges, such as those related to construction, special circumstances and major University-wide events
  • Request pre-assignments for class section only as needed, while mindful of Objective 1, "Pre-Assignments" expectations in the Academic and Event Scheduling Policy
  • Find locations for classes that were not able to be roomed during bulk scheduling
  • Make necessary and appropriate adjustments to location assignments after bulk scheduling

Office of the University Registrar

  • Provide guidance in interpreting and implementing University scheduling policies and procedures
  • Bulk Schedule classes for the Spring and Fall terms
  • Assist colleges/departments as necessary with cross-college scheduling challenges
  • Prelim and final exam room scheduling
  • In partnership with Student and Campus Life:
    • provide end user support for the Scheduling@Cornell system and website
    • training schedulers on how to use 25Live Scheduling