Text Only

VSU Directory

Select a VSU Department Academic Affairs Access Office Accounting and Finance Admissions Adult & Career Education Adult Degree and Military Programs Advancement Services Advancement, University African American Studies Air Force ROTC Alcohol & Other Drug Education Alumni Relations Anthropology Program Art Arts & Sciences, College of Arts, College of the Astronomy Athletics Auxiliary Services Biology BlazeFM: WVVS (90.9 FM) BlazeNet Board of Regents Bookstore Bursary (Tuition Cost & Fee    Payment) Business Admin. Grad Programs Business Admin., Langdale College    of Business Services Campus Activities Board Campus Alert System Campus Mail Campus Recreation Campus Wellness CampusConnect Career Services Catalogs, Undergraduate &    Graduate Center for Applied Research Center for Business and Economic    Research Center for Economic Education Chemistry Commencement Communication Arts Communication Disorders Communications Unit Conflict Resolution Continuing Education Cooperative Education Council of Department Heads Council on Staff Affairs Counseling Center Crime Stats Criminal Justice Curriculum & Instructional    Technology Curriculum, Leadership, and    Technology Department Dance Deaf Education Dean of Students Debate Team Dining Services Disability Services Distance Learning Early Childhood & Special    Education eCore Education, College of Educational Leadership Employee and Organizational    Development Employee Self Service Login Engineering Studies Engineering Transfer to Georgia    Tech (RETP) English English Language Institute Enterprise Application Services Environmental and Occupational    Safety Environmental Geosciences Environmental Issues Committee European Council Evening Program Event Services Faculty Research Seed Grants Faculty Scholarship Faculty Senate Finance and Administration Financial Aid Financial Services Freshman Learning Communities Freshmen Year Experience General Studies Geosciences Governor's Honors Program Graduate School Graduation Grants & Contracts Greek Life HallNet Health Promotions Health Services Helpdesk, Information Technology History Honors Program Hotline Housing & Residence Life HUB Learning Cooperative Human Resources Information Technology Institutional Planning Committee Institutional Review Board for the    Protection of Human    Subjects Internal Audits International Programs International Students Journalism Kinesiology & Physical    Education Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base Leadership Programs Legal Affairs Management Marketing & Economics Marriage & Family Therapy Mass Media Master of Library & Info    Science Master of Social Work Program Mathematics & Computer Science MEA Federal Credit Union Media Center Middle Grades Education Modern & Classical Languages Moody Air Force Base Music Native American Studies Network Services Nursing, College of OASIS Odum Library Off-Campus Credit Program Info Office of Social Equity One Card Services Organization & Mission Orientation Parent Resource Center Parking & Transportation Peach State Summer Theatre Perspectives Philosophy and Religious Studies Physics Planned Giving Planning and Budget Council Plant Operations Police Department Policies Political Science President's Office Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) Psychology & Counseling Public Administration Public Services Publication and Design Services Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) Reading Education Records Policy Registrar Religious Studies SACS Accreditation Science Seminar Secondary Education Small Business Development Center Social Work, Division of Sociology, Anthropology, Criminal    Justice South Georgia College Entry Program Special Education Spectator Speech Communication Sponsored Programs & Research    Administration Strategic Research & Analysis Student Affairs Student Conduct Office Student Development Organization Student Employment Student Government Association Student Handbook Student Life Student Organizations Student Success Center Student Union Tech Shop Telecommunications Testing Theatre Training and Development Undergraduate Research Council University Advancement University Assessment Committee University System of Georgia Upward Bound Vending Services Veteran's Affairs Video Production Services Volunteer Services VSU Foundation VSU TV VSU TV Live WebCT Wireless Internet for VSU Women's and Gender Studies WVVS 90.9

Prospective Students | Current Students | Faculty & Staff | Alumni & Friends | Parents & Visitors | Portals

Home > College of Arts and Sciences > Department Head Handbook > Program

PROGRAM

Scheduling Courses/Building a Schedule

One of the most demanding tasks for department heads and directors is scheduling classes, which consists of several important steps.

Planning

To begin the planning process, one must consult with the Office of the Registrar for due dates for the fall, spring, and summer schedules. In general, schedules for the spring are due by mid-August, and schedules for summer and fall are due in early December. These dates are subject to change, but department heads and directors should allow time to begin the planning and the sharing of schedules with faculty members before submission to the Office of the Registrar.

Sources of data for course planning

Before planning a schedule, department heads and directors should consult departmental materials for offering classes and for the number of sections that the schedule will require.  Perhaps the most important preliminary guide is the previous year’s schedule and the tentative two-year cycle of upper division courses.  It should give a reasonable indication of what demands were.  However, one must analyze those demands in light of how enrollment patterns may have shifted during the year.  A valuable resource is the seat planning tool (which can be accessed through the EAS portal at the Strategic Research and Analysis website where faculty SOIs are also accessed) for core curriculum and upper-division classes.  Faculty should be consulted in terms of their course and time preferences for teaching.  Department heads and directors should make sure that the classroom accommodates the maximum number of students enrolled in the course.  The seat capacity of a given classroom and its availability can be checked through the master course scheduling software (R-25).  A room can be requested through this software, which can be accessed through Banner Forms (formerly GUI Banner).  Overrides for a class must not be given beyond the capacity of the classroom. 

Developing a two-year rotation for upper division courses, including both service and major courses

A department should have a two-year rotation for all 3000-4000 level courses.  This rotation should assure that all required courses for majors are available within that span in the appropriate number of sections.  When this rotation is in place, one then decides when the classes should be offered (it is wise to rotate these courses among morning, afternoon, and evening), and which faculty will be teaching those courses.  The tentative two-year rotation for upper-division courses should be posted on the departmental website.

Scheduling core curriculum courses/anticipating needs

The trickier part of the schedule may be deciding on the number of core curriculum sections needed.  Once again, enrollment information is important as well as enrollment figures from the previous semester (particularly for a sequential course).  As noted previously, a valuable resource is the seat planning tool for core curriculum and upper-division classes.  The hiring process for adjunct faculty to meet departmental needs is outlined on pages 34-35 of this handbook.

Scheduling graduate courses

When applicable, departments also should construct graduate rotations as well.  Upper-division undergraduate courses may be cross-listed at the graduate level, but department heads and directors should ensure that the graduate component of the course includes appropriate assignments/reading load for graduate credit.  Furthermore, attention should be given to scheduling some graduate courses during the evenings for students who work during the day.

Online or hybrid courses

Online or hybrid courses should be scheduled to support the overall mission of a department or program as well as the university.  Hybrid or online courses should be identified as such prior to the start of a semester and clearly noted as such in Banner, and the delivery format of a course should not be changed after the semester starts.  Department heads and directors should utilize E-Major to advertise upper-division online courses.  E-Major is an entrepreneurial system modeled after E-Core which allows for some funds to come back to the department or program after initial costs have been covered.

Scheduling courses with other departments/programs

A department also may schedule courses in conjunction with other departments and programs.  Some of these programs are listed below.  Department heads and directors may establish rotations with some of these programs; in other cases, they may contact one another to see if faculty would be available to teach.  In these cases, department heads and directors must evaluate departmental needs to see if faculty can be spared.  Of course, faculty often enjoy these special courses, which may be nice perks.

• Honors College (Honors Course Rotation)*
• Perspectives**
• African-American Studies
• Women’s and Gender Studies
• Office of International Programs
• College of Education
• College of Business Administration
• College of Nursing
• King’s Bay Naval Base ***
• Moody Air Force Base ***

*A department may offer specifically designated Honors courses.
**Department heads and directors schedule PERS classes.  The associate dean of A&S serves as the coordinator of PERS classes, and department heads and directors should consult with the associate dean to avoid offering an excessive number of PERS seats in a given semester.
***Scheduled by the Dean of Faculty at King’s Bay Center

Addressing Faculty preferences

Once department heads and directors determine what classes must be taught, they must establish which faculty should teach these courses and at what time.  Many find faculty-preference sheets helpful.  These sheets may indicate what courses faculty have taught or would like to teach as well as their preferred times.  Of course, one cannot guarantee that departments can meet all faculty preferences.  In addition, department heads and directors should maintain lists of part-time faculty and should check their availability for the coming semester.

Assigning classrooms/switching classrooms

As they build a schedule, department heads and directors must assign rooms for all classes.  They should maintain lists of classrooms normally assigned to their departments and the number of seats in each classroom.  A department head or director can schedule courses in those classrooms that have been historically designated for the department or program.  If a department or program has scheduling needs beyond the designated classrooms, the department head or director should work with the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs to secure a classroom for a given course.  As department heads and directors prepare schedules, they often sort by faculty member, by class sections, and by classroom.  In this way, they avoid double booking a classroom or a faculty member.  As noted previously, the master scheduling software (R-25) is a valuable tool. 

Forms for scheduling

Department heads and directors will receive an electronic form from the Office of the Registrar which requests information for the course abbreviation, course number, course section, off-campus sites, number of seats, credit hours, days, beginning time, ending time, building, room, and instructor.

Ordering textbooks

After submitting the schedule, department heads should remind faculty of the due dates for ordering books, dates which are posted on the bookstore’s homepage.  Faculty are responsible for ordering books through the website for the VSU Bookstore.