Welcome to fall 2014!

Summer classroom renovations and updates 

Several general purpose classrooms received environment or technology updates during the summer, including the following:

• Video conferencing classrooms: Magrath 4, Peik 165, and Peters 145 were upgraded to full video conferencing and class capture capabilities.


• Major renovations: Amundson B75, Smith 231 & 331, and Blegen 415, 425, and 435, received new furniture, finishes, and lighting updates.


• Technology feature upgrades were completed in more than 50 rooms. Room features can be found on the room inventory page.




• Improvements include: wide-screen video projectors, HDMI input cables, and class capture output connections.




• Study spaces added: the Keller Atrium and Humphrey 50 were added to the inventory and completely renovated. New fixtures include display monitors and tables for individual study and small group work.

Remember to locate your classroom assignment

Room assignments for fall 2014 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.

Newly enhanced classroom support hotline

The Office of Classroom Management (OCM) hotline has been enhanced to align with University-wide support services and has expanded the hours of availability for technology services. The phone number remains the same (612-625-1086), but callers will be prompted to select from a menu of options. This will connect them to the support staff who are best able to meet their needs. Technology calls will be routed to a team of support professionals who are available 24 hours a day.

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.

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.

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.

Staff are available for classroom and scheduling-related calls Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Messages left at the hotline are monitored by an on-call manager after hours.

Resource for classroom searches

The Office of Classroom Management (OCM) has a resource to search for classrooms. The General Purpose Classroom Search allows you to find classrooms that meet your specifications. You can filter by campus, building, capacity, and/or feature. You can also view room details, including capacities, layout, photo, links to campus maps, and room schedule.

Fall 2014 class cancellations

Remember to cancel classes with no enrollment for fall 2014 (1149). This will ensure the room assignment is released and the class is accurately displayed on the Class Schedule.

Releasing reserved seats

If reserved group seats have not been released by departments, Academic Support Resources (ASR) will do so for fall 2014 (1149) on Friday, August 29. Reserved group seats are always released the Friday before the first day of class 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.

Confirm your room assignments for fall semester (1149)

p>Room assignments for fall 2014 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.

Newly enhanced classroom support hotline

The Office of Classroom Management (OCM) hotline has been enhanced to align with University-wide support services and has expanded the hours of availability for technology services. The phone number will remains the same (612-625-1086), but callers will be prompted to select from a menu of options. This will connect them to the support staff who are best able to meet their needs.

Technology calls will be routed to a team of support professionals who are available 24 hours a day. OCM support staff remain available for all other classroom and scheduling-related calls Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

ESUP Sneak Peek: The new waitlist process

The latest sneak peek from the Student work stream explains the "auto enroll" feature of the new waitlist process. Auto enroll will allow the system to automatically select and enroll students at the top of a waitlist on a space-available basis. For more information about the new waitlist process, see What's Changing for waitlist.

Canceling classes

There are a large number of classes on the fall 2014 class schedule with 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. Since we are in ECS Period 4, this will require college approval. Please also notify Scheduling of the cancellation.

Room assignments for fall (1149) and spring (1153)

Room assignments for fall 2014 and spring 2015 are available on the Class Schedule. Please review assignments for your department to ensure all classes requiring a general purpose classroom have been assigned. Contact Scheduling with any questions about general purpose classroom assignments. A couple reminders:

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


• Please encourage instructors to verify their classroom assignment before the first class. While it usually only affects a small number of classes, room assignments are subject to change prior to the start of term.