Overview

Effective class and classroom scheduling is critical to the academic mission of the University. It contributes to the top tier initiative by enabling students to take the classes they need in a timely manner and ensures the best use of our valuable institutional and state resources. These guidelines have been developed to ensure that both classes and classrooms are scheduled efficiently to support the needs of students, faculty, and the institution as a whole. All units are strongly encouraged to refer to this policy when planning classes or events that require the use of classrooms.

  1. Peak Hours: Peak hours in General Purpose Space is defined as 10 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. on Monday/Wednesday, and 10 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday/Thursday.
  2. Standard Meeting Patterns: Classes meeting during peak hours must be scheduled according to the Standard Meeting Pattern for the term they are scheduled in.
    1. Complete list of Fall and Spring Standard Class Times.
    2. If a course does not follow standard meeting patterns, that course needs to be scheduled in departmentally owned space or during non-peak times (before 10 a.m. or after 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, or on Friday or Saturday). Nonstandard courses cannot be scheduled in general purpose space between 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
    3. It is imperative that all courses follow the approved meeting patterns. By following a standard course time we reduce wasted "dead" time between courses. This increases the number of courses we can fit into each room each day, and it makes it easier for students to build a class schedule each semester.
    4. All cross-listed and combined courses must have the same meeting times, days and space.
  3. Distribution Goals: Courses need to be evenly distributed throughout the day and week.
    Mon-Thurs
    Before 10 a.m. or After 4 p.m.    		 Mon-Thurs
    10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.    		 Mon-Thurs
    1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.    		 Fri/Sat
    At Least 27% No More Than 27% No More Than 27% At Least 19%
    1. All departments must plan and distribute classes across all days of the week (Mon – Fri) and all hours of the day as much as possible to maximize use of campus classrooms and minimize class conflicts for students.
      • No more than 27% of courses should be offered between 10 AM and 1 PM Monday through Thursday.
      • No more than 27% of courses should be offered between 1 and 4 PM Monday through Thursday.
      • At least 27% of classes should be offered before 10 AM and after 4 PM Monday through Thursday.
      • At least 19% of courses should be offered on Fridays and Saturdays.
    2. Departments should balance their class offerings equally between Monday/Wednesday and Tuesday/Thursday meeting patterns.
    3. By spreading out course offerings, we not only make better use of the classroom space on campus, but it makes it easier for students to have a full course load.
    4. If a conflict arises wherein equivalent classes from different departments request the same room at the same time, preference will be given to the department that best complies with the course distribution policy.
  4. Room Requests: Rooms are assigned to classes for each term based on room size, seat utilization, and department partition preferences. Assignments are independent of any room assignments that were made for previous terms.
    1. In order to receive an appropriate room assignment, the Enrollment Capacity, Requested Room Capacity, and Room Characteristics fields should be accurately requested in MyUNLV during schedule open build (about 11 months before the beginning of the term for Fall and Spring terms).
      • Enrollment Capacity and Requested Room Capacity should be based on historical enrollment data with at 3-5% increase as necessary.
    2. Rooms are only assigned once 80% of the Enrollment Cap has been met and are subject to change until classes actually begin.
  5. Instructors: It is the responsibility of the Academic Departments to list all Instructors of a course in MyUNLV.
    1. This information is used to ensure that classes taught by the same instructor back to back are assigned to classrooms near each other.
  6. Consistency: Academic Departments are responsible for having consistent class scheduling practices. Class scheduling practices must adhere to all University policies and procedures that prohibit discrimination.
  7. Matched or Mirror Scheduling: If you are offering a one day a week course, another one day a week course must be offered at the same time on the corresponding day (Monday/Wednesday and Tuesday/Thursday). If the course only meets on Fridays you do not need to match it with another course.
    1. For example, if you offer a Monday only course from 10:00 - 10:50 a.m. you must also offer a Wednesday only course from 10:00 - 10:50 a.m.
    2. You need to report all matched courses to the registrar’s office at the same time as you report special accommodations. At this time the registrar's office with bind the courses together to make sure they are scheduled into the same room.
    3. By matching and reporting one day a week courses to the registrar’s office you help reduce "holes" in the schedule thus ensuring better use of the limited space on campus.
  8. Cross-listed/ Combined Sections
    1. Cross-listed - These are courses offered under more than one departmental heading. Requires curricular approval and should have the same catalog number. In other words, a cross-listed course is one that carries credit in more than one department or program. Students may not enroll in more than one section of a cross-listed course and may receive credit in one department only. For example: HCA 202 & PBH 202 or ENG 694A & WMST 694A.
    2. Combined - Combined sections refer to one class offered under two different course numbers, with only some portion of the academic experience being the same between the classes. The following undergrad/grad combinations would fall under this category as would classes were students would attend the same lecture or discussion but their corresponding lecture or discussion may be different (have a different topic, taught at a different level, or be a different experience e.g. lab work versus field work): 300/500, 400/500 or 600, or various combinations of undergrad 100/200/300/400 or Grad (600/700).
  9. Priority: Credit-bearing courses and their exams have scheduling priority over all other activities that require the use of classroom space
    1. The Office of the Registrar is authorized to schedule classes and final exams in any available general purpose classroom to accommodate the broader academic needs of the campus.