Fall 2018 room assignments

Review all room assignments for fall 2018. Room assignments are subject to change prior to the start of the term. While this usually only impacts a small number of classes, remind instructors to verify all room assignments before the first class meeting.

If a room changes after August 28, schedulers should consider sending affected students an email notification. Departments are encouraged to print off a list of classes and assigned classrooms in case the system goes down.

Classes with zero and low enrollments are continuing to be centrally monitored if they are assigned a central classroom. Email ocmsched@umn.edu as soon as possible if a class will no longer be offered or for assistance moving a class to a departmental space.

Summer classroom renovations and upgrades

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

• Ruttan B35 auditorium has been renovated. Project upgrades include technology, furniture, carpet, acoustical treatments, ceiling tile, and new lighting.
  
• Willey 125 underwent a project to replace auditorium seating. In addition to new student seating, new carpet, staircase lighting, and power door operators were installed.
  
• Mondale Hall phase 3 general purpose classroom renovations have been completed. Rooms 20, 30, 40, and 50 received new technology, furniture, carpet, acoustical treatments. and classroom finishes.
  
• 10 Church Street (formerly Bell Museum of Natural History) has new spaces assigned to Office of Classroom Management. First floor study spaces adjacent to auditorium 100 have been outfitted with new student study and lounge furniture. Rooms 303 and 311 have been converted to general purpose classrooms, equipped with repurposed furniture and classroom technology.
  
• CSOM 1-147 and 1-149 rooms were reconfigured and updated as pilot spaces, with the intent of adding more active learning strategies into CSOM's curriculum.
  
• Feature updates to Video Conferencing rooms including an improved touchscreen system, larger displays, and a new ceiling array microphone to record students. Video conferencing rooms include: Humphrey 20 and 25, Fowell 118, Peik 165, and Peters 145.
  
• See the other OCM blog post for several summer technology updates. 

Use OCM’s Room Search to verify which features are available in your assigned classrooms. If a feature you need is not available in your scheduled space, you may be able to bring your own adapter or device to connect to the system. Otherwise, contact ocmsched@umn.edu to see if we may be able to locate another classroom for you.

Roll forward for May/summer session 2019 (1195)

Class data entered into CCS rolls forward from the same term in the previous year (e.g., summer 2018 to summer 2019) as a convenience to schedulers. We will roll forward classes for May/summer session 2019 (1195) on Monday, September 10. This happens two weeks prior to CCS Open - Initial Build to allow for behind-the-scenes data clean up.

As a reminder, classes with the following criteria will not roll forward:

• Cancelled sections
• Tentative sections
• Undergraduate Topics classes
• Classes with zero enrollment (excluding directed studies and research)
• Undergraduate classes scheduled in Extended Regular Session (session 011)

Welcome back - 3 steps to be ready for fall 2018!

Greetings,


The Office of Classroom Management (OCM) welcomes you to the start of the fall 2018 semester! We recommend taking the following 3 steps to best prepare:

• Step 1: Confirm your classroom
  Go to the Teaching tab of MyU to locate your room assignments for spring 2018. We recommend you record your room assignment before the first day of the term as high system load at the start of term can cause system slowness or unavailability. We ask students to do the same, so please minimize any room change requests. While in MyU, you can also access and print your class roster [PDF].
  
  
• Step 2: Check your tech
  Use Room Search to learn about the features, layout, and equipment in your classroom. Classroom equipment instructions on the OCM website are available to learn how to use the equipment in your classroom.
  
  
• Step 3: Know your resources
  OCM is available to help with questions, concerns, and comments regarding general purpose classrooms, scheduling, and central student study spaces. You can also request a consultation for hands-on training or orientation for classroom equipment and technology. We answer calls Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Messages left at the hotline after hours are monitored by an on-call manager.
  
  Call: Classroom Support Hotline at 612-625-1086
  Email: classrm@umn.edu

All OCM classrooms are equipped with ADA compliant tables and chairs as a standard feature. We work with the Disability Resource Center to accommodate student needs and ask for your help in ensuring its proper use.

We wish you a great start to the semester!

Jeremy Todd

Director, Office of Classroom Management
Academic Support Resources, Office of Undergraduate Education

Make final changes to fall 2018 classes by Friday, August 24

It is imperative to make final changes to classes as soon as possible. Late class changes can negatively impact student financial aid eligibility, retention and degree progress. It is the department’s responsibility to make changes prior to this deadline.

Changes that should be made by August 24, 2018, include:

• Credit changes of any kind (e.g., reduction, addition, variable to set, set to variable, etc.)
• Grading basis changes of any kind (e.g., A-F only to S-N only, S-N to A-F only, etc.)
• Class cancellations
• Career changes
• Repeat allowance updates
• Component changes

After August 24, ASR will formally review each class change requested. Many changes are not directly accommodated after students are enrolled and financial aid has been disbursed.

How do I make the change requests?
Changing credits

• If choosing a set number of credits for a variable credit class, request your changes by emailing ocmsched@umn.edu.
  
• If a reduction or addition to course credits needs to be made, submit your changes through ECAS.

Changing grade basis, career, component, and/or repeat allowances

• Submit your changes through ECAS.

Canceling a class with low enrollment

1. Change the Class Status to “Stop Further Enrollment”
   (on the Enrollment Control tab of CCS).
   
2. Notify all enrolled students directly and offer alternate options.
   
3. Email ocmsched@umn.edu to process your cancellation (and drop students). Note: If your college requires collegiate approval for cancellation with low enrollment, also refer to your college procedures. 

Canceling a class with zero enrollment:

1. Change the Class Status to “Cancelled Section”
   (on the Enrollment Control tab of CCS).

Need-to-know dates and deadlines

Please note the newly posted dates below and mark them on your calendar:

• Fall 2018 and Spring 2019 final exam schedules
  
• 2019-20 CCS production calendar

Confirm room assignments for fall (1189)

Room assignments for fall 2018 are available on the Class Schedule. Review assignments for your department to ensure all classes requiring a general purpose classroom have been assigned. If you see a class without a room assignment, notify ocmsched@umn.edu ASAP to work to find a classroom. Remind instructors to verify their classroom assignment before the first class, as room assignments are subject to change prior to the start of the term.

Canceling classes for fall 2018 with zero and low enrollments

If you do not plan to offer a class, the class needs to be cancelled in CCS as soon as possible and before the start of the term. Failure to cancel a class has a direct impact on students. Workarounds to hide the class from the schedule are not a good idea.

For classes with low enrollment to be cancelled:

1. Change the Class Status to “Stop Further Enrollment” on the Enrollment Control panel of CCS.
   
2. Notify enrolled students directly to offer alternative options before requesting a class cancellation.
   
3. Email ocmsched@umn.edu to process your cancellation.
   
4. ** If your college requires collegiate approval for cancellation with low enrollment, also refer to your college procedures.

For classes with zero enrollments to be cancelled:

1. Change the Class Status to “Cancelled Section” on the Enrollment Control panel of CCS.

Academic calendar changes 2018-2020

The Faculty Senate has approved moving spring break forward one week starting March 2020. This was the best solution to get the majority of A term before spring break and to equalize meeting patterns for classes scheduled once per week. Syllabi may need to be reviewed due to this adjustment, so please communicate these changes to those within your departments.

As a reminder, spring 2019 will change from 74 instructional days to 70. Fall and spring semesters will have the same length going forward, and there is room for an additional study day for students in the spring term. The full calendars for 2018-22 can be viewed on the University Senate page.

Summer classroom technology upgrades

OCM has updated the technology in 50+ rooms this summer. View our project page to see a list of upgraded classrooms. In these rooms, instructors will see a familiar touchscreen interface, but may notice it’s a little faster. We’ve upgraded projectors, added the ability to connect devices via USB-C, and completed a general tune up of the components. Additionally, we continue the work of removing VCRs and DVD players in these rooms as we keep our commitment to provide technology that we can support.

Use OCM’s Room Search to verify which features are available in your assigned classrooms. If a feature you need is not available in your scheduled space, you may be able to bring your own adapter or device to connect to the system. Otherwise, contact ocmsched@umn.edu to see if we may be able to locate another classroom for you.

Personal pronouns and gender identity in MyU

Students and staff on all campuses are able to share personal pronouns and/or a gender identity through the MyU: My Info tab. Sharing personal pronouns and/or a gender identity is optional. Here are some additional resources:

• How-to guides on One Stop website
• One Stop information on pronouns and gender identity
• MyU information on pronouns & gender identity

MyU unavailable for maintenance

MyU has scheduled maintenance for Sunday, August 5 from 6:00 a.m. to noon and will be unavailable during this time.