Class Schedule Procedures
Class Schedule Production
The Class Schedule is produced three times a year for the Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters. Academic department staff members, with the required class schedule access, enter the class schedule into Banner during January for Fall terms, April for Spring terms, and October for Summer terms.
Class schedule production training is available to departments through online resources and organized training sessions in October.
Classroom assignments and other special course scheduling requirements are handled by Classroom Scheduling in coordination with the requesting office or department. Academic Classroom Scheduling Procedures are available below.
If you have questions about the procedures identified within this document, contact the Registrar Office Classroom Scheduling at 458-4504 or 458-4134.
Banner Class Schedule Entry Procedures
Departmental Banner/SSASECT access will be OFF:
- March 16 – April 20, 2018 (Registration)
- June 14 – 30 for Spring classroom assignments. Departments with complete Spring schedules in Banner by June 15 have the best chance of being assigned classrooms at the requested time.
- August 11 – September 8 for the start of Fall classes
- October 22 – November 17 for Spring Priority Registration
- December 28, 2018– January 30, 2018 (Census)
Academic Classroom Scheduling Procedures
- Classroom Capacity Report
- Forms
- Overview
- Classroom Safety – Seating Capacity
- Standard Class Meeting Times -
- Staggered Standard Class Meeting Times - Downtown Campus
- Summer Standard Class Meeting Times - Both Main and Downtown Campuses
- Independently Taught Classes
- Special Classroom Request Form
- Three Year Enrollment High Number (Projected Enrollment)
- Instructor or Student Requiring Special Needs
- Hybrid Classes
- Conference Rooms Accessible via Corridor for 6:00 p.m. Graduate Classes
- Classes without Classroom Assignments
- Departmentally Owned Classrooms
- Special Laboratories - Classrooms - Department Owned
- "Gateway Courses" or "Capstone Classes"
- Guidelines for Courses Offered in a Shortened Format
- Monitor and Managing Class Enrollments
- Request for a Course/Class to Reduce Enrollment Lower than the Capacity of the Assigned Classroom
- Classroom Availability Dashboard Report
- Small Enrollment Requiring Justification Reports
- Classes With No Assigned Faculty
- Assigning Faculty to Classes Early
- Cross-listed classes
- Interactive TV (AFV/AIV) classes
- Computer Classrooms
- Student Study Days
- Final Exams
Classroom Capacity Report
Capacity Report (PDF)
Courses with Approved Enrollment Maximum Setting
Course Cap Report (PDF)
Forms
- Request for Change in Class Schedule
- Request to Reduce Course Enrollment Maximums Below Room Capacities
- Special Classroom Request (PDF)
Overview
Teaching facilities are a finite resource; the goal is to maximize room and seat utilization as well as apply scheduling policies in a consistent and equitable manner. Classroom scheduling is a dynamic process requiring reevaluation of class size, equipment specifications, and pedagogical changes each term. Classroom scheduling practices are greatly enhanced with the use of standardized class meeting day and time patterns. Additionally, departments are expected to distribute their MWF and TR classes equitably throughout the week. If, for example, most classes met on Tuesdays and Thursdays, classroom demand would quickly exceed supply and student scheduling options would be very limited. It is important to spread classes throughout all class meeting time periods. While every attempt will be made to assign classrooms as requested, the Office of the Registrar cannot guarantee assignments due to conflicting requests and limited classroom resources. Every effort is made to ensure that classrooms are assigned fairly, used appropriately, and accommodate the University's academic and instructional needs.
The assignment of a specific room at a specific time in a given term will not automatically guarantee a continuing assignment of that space, even if the room was used efficiently. Faculty members should not expect to use the same space on a continuing basis. To accommodate as many requests as possible, some courses will be assigned to rooms that may not match what was requested. Also, classes using non-standard class meeting times will receive a lower priority in the room assignment process.
Classes which are identified as closed (Banner Code Status = 4) to registration will receive a lower priority for room assignments. However, subsequent runs of the scheduling algorithm could later include unassigned class sections that were closed, as long as space exists during the needed meeting time and day.
As much as possible, rooms are assigned based on the highest enrollment in the last three years for each course or by classroom feature required to conduct the class. Department verification of the enrollment three year high for each class and timely submission of the Special Classroom Request Form is critical in the classroom assignment process.
Not all classes can be assigned to the day or time requested due to limited space availability. The Deans' offices will be notified by the Registrar's Office if courses must be moved to another time or room due to over scheduling at a particular time.
Classroom Safety – Over-enrolling Students Beyond the Seating Capacity of the Assigned Classroom
In accordance with the NFPA 101 Life Safety Code, 2012 edition, and the State of Texas Fire Marshall's Office, lecture halls and auditoriums have an occupant load level based on the number of fixed seats and moveable seats designed for the auditorium. Additional seating cannot be achieved through the use of additional folding chairs or desks placed at the back of the lecture hall or auditorium.
Students and visitors in a lecture hall and auditorium cannot be allowed to sit in an aisle space, landing, or on stair steps within the assembly area. This space is considered by fire code to be an exit access corridor and cannot be blocked during the time the assembly area is occupied. Faculty should take responsibility for monitoring and enforcing these fire code requirements to ensure the safety of all occupants of the facility.
In addition, exceeding enrollment beyond the designed seating capacity of a classroom may increase the safety risk in the event of an emergency. Thus, we need to avoid over enrolling students above the capacity of the assigned classroom. The maximum seating capacity of a classroom/space can be viewed by the departments using the internal ASAP class schedule listing. The capacity of the classroom assigned to a class is identified in the “CAP” column. Also, a room capacity listing report can be viewed at classroom scheduling procedure web site.
Question(s) about the classroom safety codes can be directed to the Safety Office at fire@utsa.edu.
Standard Class Meeting Times - Main Campus
Main campus has a critical shortfall of academic teaching space. To maximize classroom utilization, standard class meeting patterns and times must be adhered too. Non-standard start/stop times disadvantage students who may not be able to add courses to their schedule due to time conflicts. Additionally, especially during the summer term, different parts of terms that don't follow the approved sessions have adverse effects on a student's enrollment verification, Coordinating Board census dates, and on student financial aid.
Thus, between 7:00am - 4:30pm, classes with a MW meeting pattern at the Main Campus are only acceptable for large undergraduate lecture classes with an expected enrollment of 180 or more, or graduate level courses, or four credit hour classes. Undergraduate three semester hour classes with no labs at the Main Campus with less than 180 student enrollment must provide justification with the Provost's approval to offer a MW only meeting time. Again, all other 75 minute undergraduate MW classes with projected enrollment of less than 180 students are required to receive Dean's recommendation and Provost's approval.
Standard Class Meeting Times Chart - Main Campus
Main Campus | |
Standard Class Meeting Times Undergraduate Classes
|
Standard Class Meeting Times Large Enrollment Undergraduate Classes (160 students+) (optional)
Highlighted yellow identifies new time periods Highlighted blue reflects changes in class meeting time periods. |
Main Campus - Three credit hour classes meeting once a week
To efficiently use academic classrooms space, once a week classes will not begin to be scheduled until 1:00pm on Monday and Wednesday. Thus, one day only classes scheduled on Monday or Wednesday are expected to use one of the following meeting times:
1:00 p.m. - 3:45 p.m
4:00 p.m. - 6:45 p.m
6:00 p.m. - 8:45 p.m.
7:30 p.m. - 10:15 p.m.
Classes are expected to use one of the following class meeting times for Tuesday and Thursday:
7:00 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.
10:00 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.
1:00 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.
4:00 p.m. - 6:45 p.m
6:00 p.m. - 8:45 p.m.
7:30 p.m. - 10:15 p.m.
For departments scheduling one day meeting classes, the department schedulers should try to balance one day meeting classes throughout the week. Ideally, if a department schedules a one day meeting class on Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. - 3:45 p.m., they will offer another one class meeting on Thursday at 1:00 p.m. - 3:45 p.m... Thus by balancing classes meeting one day a week equally, this will assist classroom scheduling in maximizing classroom utilization.
Main Campus - Scheduling One hour Dissertation, discussion sections, and class labs
Dissertation or discussion sections (classes meeting for 50 minutes, one day a week) are expected to heavily utilize/schedule at non-prime class hours (e.g. 7:00 a.m., 8:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m.)
Main Campus - 50 minute class lectures
50 minute class standard day patterns, meets three days a week MWF. 50 minute class begin times are listed below.
7:00
a.m. - 7:50 a.m. |
12:00
p.m. - 12:50 p.m. |
Main Campus - 75 minute class lectures
75 minute classes scheduled on a MW or TR day pattern are expected to use one of the following hours:
|
7:00
a.m. - 8:15 a.m. |
4:00
p.m. - 5:45 p.m. |
Downtown Campus - Staggered Standard Class Meeting Times
Standard class times will be staggered between the two campuses. In other words, the normal day class start time at the Main Campus will be at 7:00am while the normal day class start time at the Downtown Campus will begin at 7:30am. There will be no staggered class times during the summer term. Since the Downtown Campus has underutilized classroom space available during the daytime hours, department chairs would have the latitude to deviate from the standard meeting pattern at the Downtown Campus if they feel this is warranted. Thus, MW classes are allowed to be scheduled during the day. However, the downtown classes beginning times must adhere to the following downtown campus Standard Class Meeting Times. The exception is classes which are designated as Interactive Video classes. Where the class video originates will determine the class meeting time.
Standard Staggered Class Meeting Times Chart - Downtown Campus
Downtown Campus | |
Standard Class Meeting Times Undergraduate Classes
|
Optional Downtown Standard Class Meeting Times to include Large Enrollment Undergraduate Classes (90 students+) |
Downtown Campus - Three credit hour classes meeting once a week
Classes are expected to use one of the following class meeting times:
7:30 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.
10:30 a.m. - 1:15 p.m.
1:30 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.
5:30 p.m. - 8:15 p.m. or
6:00 p.m. - 8:45 p.m.
7:30 p.m. - 10:15 p.m.
Some departments have numerous one day meeting classes. Those departments should try to balance one day meeting classes between Tuesday and Thursday and at the same start time. Ideally, if a department schedules a one day meeting class on Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. - 4:45 p.m., they will offer another one class meeting on Thursday at 2:00 p.m. - 4:45 p.m. Thus by balancing classes meeting one day a week equally, this will assist classroom scheduling in maximizing classroom utilization.
Downtown Campus - Scheduling One hour Dissertation, discussion sections, and class labs
Dissertation or discussion sections (classes meeting for 50 minutes, one day a week) are expected to heavily utilize/schedule at non-prime class hours (e.g. 07:30 a.m., 8:30 a.m. or in the afternoon)
Summer Standard Class Meeting Times - Both Main and Downtown Campuses
Mini-Mester - Five Week Term (F,S)
Ten Week Term (T)
|
Four Week Term (J,L)
Eight Week Term (8)
|
Independently Taught Classes
Independent Study, Internship, Master's Thesis, Doctoral Dissertation, and other classes that meet in an independent manner; sections are created when academic roll forward is completed. These sections will appear on the working copy of the schedule provided to the colleges to begin preparing their schedule of course offerings. The sections should be retained to meet anticipated department needs. Additional sections that the department estimates may be required during the semester will be added in Banner by department staff. Departments update the enrollment data maximum and the dates (no meeting times) in SSASECT form in Banner. Notes: Independent studies must be entered by the deadline given to the departments by the Vice Provost and Dean of University College. Additional section requests after the above date will be forwarded to Registrar Records Staff for processing.
Special Classroom Request Form
This form is required for a class requiring particular equipment (e.g. white board, chalk board), or a classroom layout (e.g. tables and chairs, tiered classroom, etc.). If all classes for a discipline require the same classroom feature, e-mail Classroom Scheduling or call 458-4504 or 458-7725 so a standard room feature preference can be created for the discipline/department. The Special Classroom Request Form is submitted with the schedule when it is first sent to the Office of Academic Support and Undergraduate Studies. Special classroom requests can rarely be granted after the initial schedule submission.
Information provided on the Special Classroom Request form is used to set up the class required room feature preferences in the R25 software scheduling system. Request what is required for the individual class. A Special Classroom Request form is not required for every class, but only for an individual class requiring a special classroom feature.
Three Year Enrollment High Number (Projected Enrollment)
The three year enrollment high number/(Banner field - Projected: on SSASECT form - Enrollment Details) is used by the scheduling software to determine the classroom size needed for room assignment. Thus it is critical for departments to review and update this field on the class record prior to submitting the class schedule. For example, if a department needs to increase the class size because fewer sections of a course are being offered, the 3-year high will need to be adjusted. Another example is that the class is now designated as an Honors Class. The three year high enrollment number for the new Honors class would need to be adjusted. In addition, when the department academic scheduler creates a new academic class record in Banner, the class record will need to have a three year high enrollment number assigned. If not, the default size for a class is set to 30 students. If a larger classroom size is required, then the department scheduler must adjust the number on the new class record.
Instructor or Student Requiring Special Needs
If an instructor has a physical limitation, coordinate with Academic Classroom Scheduling so this instructor's classes are arranged and assigned correctly. Instructors with physical limitations must be identified every semester. For students requiring Special Needs, coordination is required through Disability Services. At times, it may be necessary to change classroom assignments to accommodate the student.
Hybrid Classes
A Hybrid course, as defined by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), is a "course in which a majority (more than 50 percent but less than 85 percent), of the planned instruction occurs when the students and instructor(s) are not in the same place."
Important: A class not designated as a hybrid class prior to student registration, will not be allowed to add the hybrid code to it. Once students have registered for these sections, they have done so without the knowledge that these sections could revert to hybrid classes. All hybrid classes should be designated as such prior to early registration. If you want to replace an existing face-to-face section with a hybrid designation, the face-to-face section must be cancelled, the students will be removed from the face-to-face class, and they will need to register themselves for the newly created hybrid class.
Guideline for Scheduling Hybrid Classes
For hybrid classes to create classroom space savings and for the University to be able to offer additional academic classes, a hybrid class should be paired with another hybrid class with the same meeting pattern and assigned to the same classroom space. For example: two hybrid classes are scheduled at the TR 0930-1045 time slot; one hybrid class/section will be designated to meet on Tuesdays and the other hybrid class will be scheduled to meet on Thursdays. Both hybrid classes will be assigned to the same academic classroom. Another option is to schedule a hybrid class at a non-peak class meeting time. Paired hybrid courses receive classroom scheduling priority.
Recommendations For Scheduling Hybrid Classes:
One day only Graduate hybrid classes will not increase course offerings unless two hybrid graduate classes can be assigned to the same academic classroom with each hybrid class meeting on alternating weeks.
Hybrid classes must identify which day of the week the class will meet.
Graduate level hybrid courses will require either an online exam or an electronic final project.
If the hybrid class's final exams are performed online, then there is no final exam scheduling issue. However, if paired hybrid classes are sharing a classroom space and both hybrid classes require a comprehensive final exam to be administered in a classroom, this will result in a final exam classroom scheduling conflict.
Essentially, hybrid classes allow the University to offer additional classes within the same classroom space. Therefore, hybrid classes must be paired together so that classroom utilization is not negatively impacted. Ideally, the department will offer multiple hybrid classes and the department will pair these classes at the same class start time but on a different day of the week.
Hybrid classes must be scheduled with a one day a week class meeting pattern. Hybrid classes meeting on a Monday, Wednesday, or Friday will be scheduled for 50 minutes. Classes meeting on a Tuesday or Thursday will be scheduled for 75 minutes. For example:
Monday 0900-0950,
Tuesday 1000-1115,
Wednesday 1000-1050,
Thursday 1130-1245, etc.When hybrid classes cannot be paired within the department, the department should attempt to pair their hybrid class within another department in the College. When pairing a hybrid class is not possible for the department, then Classroom Scheduling will attempt to pair the class with another department's hybrid class when reviewing the class schedule.
Paired hybrid classes will be given priority when assigning classroom assignments. The ability to offer more courses in existing space justifies this priority. A traditional classroom based course will be given priority in classroom assignments over hybrid classes which are not paired. However, if instructors wish to meet with their students in a paired hybrid class for a week or two at the beginning of the semester prior to going online, please contact the Registrar's Office scheduling area, and they will work with you on assigning a temporary classroom at a non-peak time for you to meet with your students.
Graduate hybrid classes must identify what dates in the term the class will be meeting in the classroom and identify those dates in the comments of the class. Graduate hybrid classes will be blended with another graduate hybrid class. This means that two hybrid classes will be assigned to the same academic classroom on the same day and time and the two hybrid classes will meet on alternating weeks.
Hybrid courses must share the same code and the same fee. Hybrid classes are identified with the Banner schedule type code of "AHB". Comments for “hybrid” classes must be standardized and mentioned that the class is a 'hybrid" class. Note: There can be "AIN" (lecture, internet) courses and "AFV" (lecture, interactive TV, face to face) courses which meet in a "hybrid" fashion. These types of classes facilitate course offerings but not space utilization.
Orientation for internet courses should be held on a Friday, Saturday or a non-peak time to facilitate space utilization.
Another option is to schedule a hybrid class at a non-peak class meeting time to avoid negatively impacting classroom utilization. Hybrid classes scheduled at non-peak class meeting times will not have to be paired with another hybrid class. Non-peak class meeting times are:
UTSA Non-peak Class Meeting Times/Patterns
Main Campus
MWF 0700-0750
MWF 0800-0850
MWF 1500-1550
MW 2100-2245
TR 0700-0815
TR 1630-1745
TR 2030-2145
Fridays (1600-2200)
Saturdays/Sundays (any time)
Downtown Campus
MWF 0730-0820
MWF 0830-0920
MWF 1330-1420
MWF 1430-1520
1530-1620
MW 1600-1715
MW 2030-2145
TR 0730-0945
TR 1530-1745
TR 2030-2145
Fridays (1600-2200)
Saturdays/Sundays (any time)
Final Exam Scheduling For Hybrid Classes:
Ideally, a hybrid class final exam will be conducted online. Graduate hybrid courses will require either an online exam or an electronic final project. If a hybrid class requires a comprehensive final in the classroom, the hybrid class should be scheduled at a non-peak class meeting time and not be paired with another hybrid class to avoid final exam scheduling conflicts.
If hybrid classes are paired and both paired hybrid classes require a comprehensive final in the classroom, the department will designate which paired hybrid class will conduct the final exam on Common Final Saturday at 5 p.m. For hybrid classes that are paired with a different department hybrid class, Classroom Scheduling will coordinate between the departments to determine which hybrid class final exam will be conducted on Saturday. Hybrid classes that are scheduled on Common Final Saturday may have students with final exam conflicts with scheduled common finals or with Thursday or Friday evening classes which also have the Saturday 5 pm final exam schedule.
To minimize student final exam conflicts, a designated final exam day and time needs to be established for hybrid classes. Currently, the proposal is for Common Final Saturday at 5:00 pm. At the moment, Thursday evening classes have final exams on Common Final Saturday so as not to conflict with Thursday's commencement.
Use of Conference Rooms Accessible via Corridor for 6:00 p.m. Graduate Classes
Academic departments that have conference rooms with corridor access should contact the Office of the Registrar to determine if these conference rooms could be made available for the scheduling of classes at the 6:00 PM evening hour. Departments have first preference for assigning these conference rooms to their own class sections, but the Registrar's Office may need any of these conference rooms that go unassigned. If the academic department decides to remove any of these conference rooms from the availability listing, they must first notify the Provost's Office and or the Space Management Office of this action for confirmation. These conference rooms can sometimes be used for other department graduate classes which in turn could free up general purpose classroom space for the assignment of undergraduate classes. This procedure is a temporary strategy to create additional classroom space for evening graduate classes until adequate classroom space exists. The conference rooms which have been approved for use at 6:00 pm are:
List Conference Rooms Available for 6:00 p.m. Graduate Classes
| DEPARTMENT | BUILDING NAME | Room # | Room Type Name | Seating Capacity | |
| 1 | CIVIL ENGINEERING | BIOTECHNOLOGY SCIENCES & ENG | 1.408 | Conference | 26 |
| 2 | BIOLOGY | BIOTECHNOLOGY SCIENCES & ENG | 3.106 | Conference | 35 |
| 3 | MECHANICAL ENGINEERING | ENGINEERING BUILDING | 3.04.62 | Conference | 20 |
| 4 | HISTORY | McKINNEY HUMANITIES | 4.04.26 | Conference | 23 |
| 5 | ASSOC PROVOST-DOWNTOWN | DURANGO BUILDING | 2.208 | Conference | 16 |
Classes Without Classroom Assignments (Waiting List)
Often after the initial class schedule room assignments is released, numerous classes are not able to be assigned at the requested time due to the high demand for the particular meeting time. To reduce the waiting list, six weeks before a Fall or Spring semester begins, departments will receive a report reflecting undergraduate courses with no enrollment. Departments will justify if the classroom assignment should be retained or whether the class should be closed immediately thus opening up the classroom. Four weeks before a Fall or Spring semester begins, undergraduate courses with no enrollment will have the classroom assignment removed. Classes on the waiting list will then be given priority to the classrooms made available.
Departmentally Owned Classrooms
Any departmentally owned classrooms that are not assigned to the academic department's classes will revert to the Office of the Registrar to be distributed to other departments requiring rooms for their classes. Other academic departments needing academic classroom space for their academic classes would take precedence over other non-academic uses of 110 classroom space. Therefore, six weeks before a Fall or Spring semester begins, classes which are on the waiting list can be assigned to departmentally owned classrooms if the day and time slot is available. Departmentally owned classrooms should be assigned (to the applicable classes) in Banner by the department as early as possible.
Special Laboratory Classrooms and Department Owned Classroom Spaces
Departments owning special laboratories or academic classrooms should assign their own classes to these rooms first when developing the class schedule. Once these classes have been assigned to their own labs/classrooms and these rooms are filled up, then the department can go outside their own labs for additional academic classroom space. Departments must be good stewards when scheduling their labs and classrooms and not allow classes/labs to be assigned to general academic classrooms unless absolutely necessary. Departmentally owned special laboratories and classrooms should be assigned (to the applicable lab/academic classes) in Banner by the department as early as possible.
"Gateway Courses" Or "Capstone Classes"
When departments submit their class schedule, they can identify classes which have priority within their own department for the purpose of classroom assignment. This identification is intended to target courses that are "gateway courses" or "capstone courses" that are essential to graduation. The intent is not having these classes placed on the waiting list.
Guidelines for Courses Offered in a Shortened Format
Guidelines for Courses Offered in a Shortened Format can be found in the Handbook of Operating Procedures in Chapter 2.32 Administration of Courses Offered in Shortened Format https://www.utsa.edu/hop/chapter2/2-32.html .
Courses offered in a shortened format for which the student earns credit hours must meet the guidelines of the Texas Education Higher Education Coordinating Board guidelines for minimum course length: 16 week (45-48 contact hours including a week for the final examination) and also non-contact hour time for out of class learning and reflection.
Shortened format: the elapsed time for a three-semester credit hour course from the first class meeting through the meeting for the final examination is less than 16 weeks.
No three credit hour course shall consist of fewer than nine days of classes offered over a period of time not less than three weeks.
The standards for admission, drop/withdrawal and grading are substantially equivalent to similar courses taught in a normal semester or summer session term format.
Approval Process:
- Department Faculty shall develop justification for the course to be offered in a shortened format and submit the justification and a request for approval to the Department Chair for review and approval.
- The Department Chair shall submit an approved justification and request for approval for the course to be offered in a shortened format to the College Dean.
- The College Dean shall submit an approved justification and request for approval for the course to be offered in a shortened format to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.
- The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs must approve the course offered in a shortened format before it can be offered.
A proposal to request shortened format courses should be approved by the start of priority registration for each term.
Monitor and Management of Class Enrollments
All Department chairs will receive an email from the Registrar's Office reporting system to alert them when a class section initially closes due to full enrollment. Department chairs could then forward these email alerts to any staff members and/or faculty they feel requires this information. These email alerts are designed to ensure that Department chairs are made aware that their classes are closing in the event that they wish to investigate the possibility of opening up other class sections, if warranted. The newly assigned Department chairs should ensure they are on Registrar reporting system distribution list. Departments should review the Enrollment Summary Report regularly through the term registration period.
Request for a Course/Class to Reduce Enrollment Lower than the Capacity of the Assigned Classroom
Course Cap Report (PDF)
An enrollment cap report is provided on this site for the department to review and adjust (when required). Depending on the level of the course, approval to lower the enrollment cap on a course/class must be coordinated through either the Dean of Undergraduate Studies or Dean of Graduate Studies. The form titled Request to Reduce Course Enrollment is used to add/change a class/course maximum enrollment. This form is located within the client/individual Outlook Public Folders; (Public Folders/All Folders/UTSA Forms). After approval, Classroom Scheduling will update Banner and initiate the computer program/script to update approved courses/classes to reduce maximum enrollment prior to student registration.
Classroom Availability Dashboard Report
The classroom availability dashboard report will be updated weekly once registration begins. This dashboard reflects academic classrooms available by class meeting time. Departments can see when and where classrooms are available. All dashboards can be viewed on the Registrar's Office website: http://utsa.edu/registrar/roomsched/. Departments may also request a hard copy of the classroom availability report.
Small Enrollment Requiring Justification Reports
Classes with small enrollment requiring justification reports will be sent out on the third work day prior to the beginning of a Fall or Spring semester. Final determination if a class will be cancelled will be on or before the fifth business day after the start of the semester (i.e. the last day of student late registration). The small class report includes classes with fewer than 5 enrollments in a graduate course and under 10 enrollments in an undergraduate course. Departments with higher college enrollment caps should follow their college policy (i.e. COLFA caps are 7 in a graduate course and 20 in an undergraduate course).
Classes With No Assigned Faculty
Reports with no assigned faculty will be sent to the department one week before classes begin. Final determination if a class will be cancelled will be on or before the fifth class day of the semester.
Assigning Faculty to Classes Early
It is a benefit to assign faculty to classes as early as possible. Classroom scheduling will review the faculty schedule to determine which classes are taught back to back by an instructor. Attempts will be made to try to assign the instructor in the same classroom or at least in the same building.
Cross-listed Classes
Cross-listings consist of two or more classes meeting together, in the same room or online, taught by the same instructor. Graduate and undergraduate classes may be cross-listed. When department staff enter the class schedule into Banner a section comment should be entered in Banner/SSATEXT for all cross-listed classes. Example: Cross-listed with POL 5203.001. Credit cannot be earned for both POL 3463 and POL 5203.
In the Registrar’s office Cross-listed classes are identified programmatically by looking for “double-booked” instructors. Cross-listed classes are then linked in Banner/SSAXLST causing a two-character code to appear in the Cross-List field in Banner/SSASECT. If no code appears, the class is NOT cross-listed and the instructor will not have access to all of his or her cross-listed classes in Blackboard.
Departments should monitor cross-listed classes in Banner to ensure that a cross-list code appears in SSASECT. A cross-listed comment in SSATEXT will not ensure instructor access in Blackboard. If this code is missing, you need to add or make changes to cross-listed classes, or you have an instructor who does not have Blackboard access for all classes within a cross-list grouping, contact Pat Marcus at ext. 4539 for assistance.
Interactive TV (AFV/AIV) classes
Interactive TV classes are taught via two-way audio/video conferencing between UTSA and the Downtown campus, or an off-site location like the Southwest Research Institute. Schedule type AFV is used for one section; schedule type AIV is used for the corresponding, linked, section. All Interactive TV class sections must have comments entered on SSATEXT. Example: This section is linked to POL 4363.901 via Interactive TV. Classrooms for Interactive TV sections are coordinated through the Learning Technology Office at 458-5858. After obtaining the distance learning classroom assignment, the department enters this room assignment in Banner as early as possible.
Computer Classrooms
The Office of Academic Computing maintains and schedules computer classrooms. A department which has a class requiring a computer classroom assignment must coordinate with the Academic Computing office at 458-2642 for the room assignment. After obtaining the computer classroom room assignment, the department enters this room assignment in Banner as early as possible.
Student Study Days
At the end of each Fall and Spring Semester, two days prior to the beginning of the final examination period are designated as Student Study Days. Classes do not meet during Student Study Days. Furthermore, Student Study Days are not to be used as dates on which papers are to be turned in, examinations are to be given, quizzes are to be scheduled, mandatory review sessions are to be held, or for any other class related activities, other than office hours. Voluntary review sessions at which no new material is presented may be conducted by faculty on these days. There are no Student Study Days during the Summer Semester.
Final Exams
Reference Handbook of Operating Procedures (http://www.utsa.edu/hop/chapter2/2-17.html): Final examinations or other evaluative activities are the accepted standard in all organized courses. These exams and evaluations are held at the close of each semester and summer term. The time and place of final examinations for organized courses are given in the University's Final Examination Schedule which appears in the UTSA Schedule of Classes for each semester and summer term session. Final examinations given during the Final Examination Schedule must be given on the dates and at the times when they are scheduled and in the places where they are scheduled.
For courses that end at times other than the official last day of classes and for courses that are not classified as organized, such as an independent study or internship, instructors are responsible for providing information to their students and their department chairs regarding final examination requirements.
For a class that is not scheduled with a standard class meeting time, coordination with the Office of the Registrar is essential to determine the class final exam day and time. Or, the instructor can refer to the final exam chart and locate the closest standard class meeting pattern of the class to determine the class final exam day and time. The published final exam schedule for standard class meeting times chart is on ASAP. Contact the Office of the Registrar Classroom Scheduling for guidance. Reference https://asap.utsa.edu/pls/prod/xwskschd.P_UTSA_OpenSch
If you have questions about the procedures identified within this document, contact the Registrar Office Classroom Scheduling at 458-4504 or 458-7725.
Banner Class Schedule Entry Procedures
Last updated January 30, 2018