AA114-H Scheduling of Academic Pace and Ad Hoc Activities Procedure - Academic Affairs

UT Health Science Center:

AA114-H Scheduling of Academic Space and Ad Hoc Activities Procedure – Academic Affairs

No./Title: AA114 – SCHEDULING OF ACADEMIC SPACE AND AD HOC ACTIVITIES PROCEDURE	Resp. Office: ACADEMIC AFFAIRS Approval Body: CASA	Effective Date: 07/01/1989
Category: Academic	Last Review: 08/03/2021	Next Review: 08/03/2024
Contact: MaryAnn Clark, Associate Vice Chancellor Academic Affairs	 901.448.4930	 aaffairs@uthsc.edu
Related Policy: SIM101 Sim Scheduling Policy

POLICY

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) utilizes a centralized process to manage and schedule instructional classroom and laboratory space for the academic programs of the six colleges. A centralized system is also used to schedule the three main computer testing laboratories. Scheduling of space is also coordinated for ad hoc and special eventactivities that take place on the campus.

RATIONALE AND PROCEDURE

UTHSC colleges take great care in developing a curriculum that meets the academic needs of their degree programs. However, because classes in a health science center do not operate on a traditional higher education model and because UTHSC educational space is primarily located in a few campus facilities dedicated to instruction, a system must be in place to coordinate the curricular needs of the colleges, build a complex instructional matrix and resolve any space/scheduling conflicts that arise.

The goal of the Central Scheduling Office is to achieve maximum utilization of available space while also ensuring that conflicts and double-bookings do not occur during the delivery of the curricula. Various ad hoc and special event activities are also coordinated as a second priority relative to academic needs.

Colleges must submit their academic space requirements to the Central Scheduling Office twice annually. Scheduling requests should be received by the deadlines presented below:

Summer/Fall Term Requests due by May 1 Winter/Spring Term Requests due by October 1

The submission should include the classroom, laboratory and small group needs by course for the up-coming six-month period and should also include dates/times of class meetings, numbers of students and any other pertinent course information that affects space assignments, i.e. distance education requirements, etc. Examination schedules, including requested use of computer laboratories, should also be included with this information.

The Central Scheduling Office is responsible for scheduling academic space in the GEB (General Education Building), the Link Auditorium, and the Coleman College of Medicine Building; the Central Scheduling office also schedules the three computer testing labs: Rooms C109 and B107 GEB and the computer lab in the Pharmacy building.
The Central Scheduling Office is responsible for developing a coordinated master academic space schedule for campus curricular activities and publicizing this calendar to the colleges and the campus.
The Central Scheduling Office develops academic schedules in six-month increments.
The Central Scheduling Office establishes and communicates deadlines for receipt of classroom and laboratory requests for the up-coming semester. Materials not received by the deadline will be scheduled as space is available.
Regularly scheduled classes with designated course numbers have the highest priority for use of space.
Classes that meet on an irregular basis have a secondary priority for space scheduling; ad hoc and special event requests, including continuing education activities are scheduled as space is available and so long as these activities do not create a conflict with academic programs.
The Central Scheduling Office is the campus party responsible for managing the software program used in academic scheduling; this office is also responsible for entering data, training new users and managing the on-line calendar that reflect both academic and ad hoc activities scheduled in designated UTHSC spaces.
Colleges should submit examination schedules along with classroom/laboratory requests. The scheduling of computer laboratories for examinations will be based on a number of factors including the date/time and numbers of students to be tested and previously established policies related to examination time requirements, numbers of stations per room, etc.
Academic activities have priority in scheduling computer laboratories; training, special event and other campus activities are scheduled as a second priority and may be moved or canceled in order to accommodate academic needs.
The College of Pharmacy is responsible for scheduling academic space in the College of Pharmacy building; space not in use by the College of Pharmacy may be used by other academic programs.
The Center for Healthcare Improvement and Patient Simulation (CHIPS) is responsible for scheduling space in the Center for Healthcare Improvement and Patient Simulation (CHIPS).
The Central Scheduling Office also assists in negotiating use of spaces in other facilities across campus that may be needed or required for academic course activities.