Welcome to fall 2013!

Summer classroom renovations and updates 

Several general purpose classrooms received environment or technology updates during the summer. Some of these updates included the following:

• Willey Hall partition - The large motorized partition in Willey Hall 125 and 175 was replaced. See photos of the construction and finished product here.
• Video conferencing classrooms - Magrath 4, Peik 165, and Peters 145 were added to the OCM inventory.
• Furnishing upgrades - Keller 3-230 and Borlaug 335 and 365 received new furniture, finishes, lighting, and A/V equipment.
• Technology feature upgrades were completed in more than 50 rooms. Room features can be found on the newly revised room inventory page.
• STSS 114 - Two classrooms in the Science Teaching & Student Services building (STSS) were combined to provide increased capacity for an Active Learning Classroom (ALC).The new room seats 171 students and offers the same active learning functionality as before.

New scheduling system launched

In May, the Office of Classroom Management (OCM) implemented a new, system-wide classroom and event scheduling system called Astra Schedule. The system replaced the old classroom schedule viewers and request process. A quick start guide is available on the new Astra Schedule home page showing how to request a classroom for an event.

Fall 2013 classroom assignments

Room assignments for fall 2013 classes are available on the One Stop Class Schedule. Please note: room assignments are subject to change prior to the start of term. While this usually only affects a small number of classes, verify your classroom assignment before the first class meeting. If you have specific questions about your room assignment, contact your department scheduling coordinator.

Classroom technology instructions and videos

The classroom technology instructions for each building provide a list of equipment and additional features, as well as a representative image of the instructor station in each classroom. Orientation is available upon request for those who want to learn more about the technology features. For any questions, contact OCM Classroom Support or 612-625-1086.

OCM News Blog

Stay informed about general purpose classrooms and student study spaces by visiting the OCM news blog. The blog provides news and information updates throughout the semester and is accessible via the OCM website or by subscribing using your favorite RSS feed/blog reader.

Contact us

OCM is available to help with any questions, concerns, or comments regarding general purpose classrooms or central student study spaces. Contact us via the Classroom Support Hotline at 612-625-1086 or classrm@umn.edu.

The hotline is available from 7:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Monday-Friday. Messages left at the hotline are monitored by an on-call manager after hours.

Confirm your room assignments for fall semester (1139)

Room assignments for fall 2013 are available on the Class Schedule. Please review assignments for your department to ensure all classes requiring a general purpose classroom have been assigned.

Room assignments are subject to change prior to the start of the term. While this usually only affects a small number of classes, the Office of Classroom Management (OCM) encourages instructors to verify their classroom assignment before the first class meeting.

Recap of summer upgrades

Several general purpose classrooms and study spaces are being upgraded during the summer. Detailed project information is available on the OCM website, but a few highlights include:

• Technology Updates: OCM updated classroom equipment in more than 50 rooms.

• AppleTV expansion: Apple TV enables users to display presentations from an iPad or Apple computer using a wireless network.

• Willey partition: The large motorized partition in Willey Hall 125 & 175 has been replaced.

• Increased capacity ALC: STSS rooms 114 and 118 are being combined. The new room will seat 171 students and have the same active learning functionality.

• Furniture Updates: Keller 3-230, Borlaug 335, and Borlaug 365 received new furniture, finishes, lighting, and A/V equipment.

• Amundson Hall: The south face of Amundson Hall has been replaced as part of the Gore Annex addition and infrastructure updates. All general purpose classrooms on the first and second floors have new windows or are on the new curtain wall.

• Card access and accessibility: All general purpose classrooms in Lind and Kolthoff Halls received new card access systems and improved handicap access.

Fall 2013 class cancellations

Remember to cancel classes with no enrollment for fall 2013 (1139). This will ensure that the room assignment is released on the Class Schedule.

Releasing reserved seats

If fall 2013 reserved group seats have not been released by departments, they will be on Friday, August 30. Reserved group seats are always released the Friday before the first day each semester.

You may choose to release reserved seats prior to August 30 to increase enrollment. Guidelines for the Management of Reserved Group Seats are available to help department schedulers determine the appropriate release date. For questions on how to release reserved seats, contact the Student Records Training Team.

Reduced study space in Skok Hall

Study space in Skok Hall B50 was reduced by 50% to accommodate a newly funded CFANS faculty research space. Take a peek at the updated layout.

Willey Hall and STSS projects underway

During the summer, the large motorized partition in Willey Hall 125 and 175 was replaced. Check out photos of the construction and finished product here.

Two classrooms in Science Teaching & Student Services (STSS) are also undergoing a summer project. In order to provide more room for an Active Learning Classroom (ALC), STSS rooms 114 and 118 have been combined. The new room will seat 171 students and offer the same active learning functionality as before. The project will be completed by the start of the fall 2013 semester.

New faculty orientation

New Faculty Orientation will take place August 20-22. The three days of orientation will introduce faculty to critical information, resources, and support for research, teaching, and outreach efforts. For more information regarding the agenda and online registration, click here.

The Office of Classroom Management (OCM) will also provide an overview of its support and services that is included in faculty orientation materials.

ESUP Student Records Town Hall

The next Enterprise System Upgrade Program (ESUP) Student Records Work Stream Town Hall is scheduled for Friday, August 9, 8:30-10 a.m. in Walter 402.  An option to attend online will also be available. The Town Hall will include a status update on the progress of the team and an overview of the business processes that have been approved within ESUP governance. Many PeopleSoft users asked for the opportunity to hear more about processes as a whole. For more information, see ESUP Student Records Stakeholder Engagement.

Check your work in ECS

Remember to verify all class notes for your department on the Class Schedule. Class notes from ECS populate in the Class Schedule and roll forward each term. Be sure that the notes associated with your classes are still applicable.

Canceling classes in ECS

There are a large number of classes on the fall 2013 class schedule that have a room assignment but no enrolled students. If you do not plan to offer a class, cancel the class in ECS as soon as possible.

Changing the enrollment capacity to zero and checking the "no print" box in ECS will not release the classroom assignment. You must cancel the class in ECS. When you do, notify Scheduling of the cancellation.

Room assignments for fall (1139) and spring (1143)

Room assignments for fall 2013 and spring 2014 are now available on the Class Schedule. Please review assignments for your department to ensure all classes requiring a general purpose classroom have been assigned. Contact Schedulingwith any questions about general purpose classroom assignments.

The Office of Classroom Management (OCM) only finds a general purpose classroom for classes with a blank Facility ID in ECS.  If the Facility ID field is populated, OCM is not actively looking for a classroom for your class. This includes being populated with a virtual space, such as ROOM000TBA or AHCROOMTBA. 

Room assignments are subject to change prior to the start of term. While this usually only affects a small number of classes, OCM encourages instructors to verify their classroom assignment before the first class meeting.