Course scheduling guidelines

Scheduling principles

Academic Directors have the authority and responsibility for scheduling courses. As units prepare their course schedules each term, please keep in mind three major goals:

  1. Adhere to standard start times (see schedule templates below).
  2. Spread the schedule out through the five weekdays and throughout the times of day.
  3. Attempt to offer 60% of classes on MWF and 40% on TTh.

Schedule templates

Standard course scheduling options

All three-credit classes with no lab component should fit within the start and stop times of the schedule template and meet the criteria listed above.

Normal scheduling requires three 50 minutes classes on MWF or two 75 minutes classes on TTh.*

Block courses that meet once per week for pedagogical reasons are allowable before 4:15pm as long as they utilize the existing template slots (e.g., 1:10 – 4 p.m. on M or W; 1:25 – 4:05 p.m. on Tu or Th). Please note that these classes have proven most difficult to accommodate in the final exam template and room or exam conflicts may arise.

Four-credit courses should also use the standard schedule template (start at standard time), but will run longer each day.

Classes should be spread throughout the day with special attention to scheduling large-enrollment courses (50+ students), as there is a limited supply of large classrooms.

Scheduling exceptions

Any 3-credit course that does not meet the above template guidelines must be approved by the Associate Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs before the course is submitted to the Registrar’s Office. Exceptions should be sent using the Scheduling Spreadsheet. Academic units will be asked to provide a rationale for each exception request. Such off-template courses must have minimal impact on student’s schedules for other required classes. Courses meeting out of template will have lower room priority and may experience conflicts with final exams.

Room assignments

General Use Classrooms (GUCs) are scheduled by the Registrar’s Office. GUCs may be requested by type (computer lab, group, tiered, etc.) if necessary for instruction. These requests are vetted by the department scheduler and submitted to the Registrar’s Office. Room type requests are honored if possible within other considerations. Once rooms are assigned, rooms are not changed unless there is justification for a different room type and a room swap is agreed upon by instructors. In some instances the Access Center may make a building or room request to accommodate a student.

*Please note: due to federal and NWCCU a ccreditation policies, WSU requires for each 1 cr. of:

  • Lecture: 50 min./wk.
  • Lab: 150 mi n./wk.
  • Studio: 100 min./wk.
  • Ensemble: 200 min./wk.