Thank you to our schedulers!

You all had to adjust the fall schedules to account for 6-foot physical distancing in a short amount of time. Thank you for getting so much of this work done before we started to assign general purpose classrooms! We appreciate all of the coordination this effort took from our colleges, departments, and instructors. Thank you!

Review fall 2020 room assignments

While OCM is still working to assign classrooms for all classes, most room assignments for fall 2020 are available on the Class Schedule. Most classes that needed a general purpose classroom did receive one; However, we are still working to find room for others. Please review assignments for your department to ensure all classes requiring a general purpose classroom have been assigned.

Please note the following:

• If you need to adjust enrollment capacities/requested room capacities, please contact ocmsched@umn.edu, and we will work with you to find available space.
  
• If a class was assigned to the incorrect campus bank, please contact ocmsched@umn.edu, and we will work with you to find available space.
  
• We are aware that some classes held during peak times have not been assigned a room. We will continually review our unplaced classes to try and accommodate a classroom.
  
• Classes with zero and low enrollments are continuing to be centrally monitored. Please review enrollment capacities for classes, as we still have many classrooms available that can seat 15 or fewer students. Email ocmsched@umn.edu as soon as possible if the enrollment has been adjusted, if a class will no longer be offered, or for assistance moving a class to a departmental space.
  
• 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. Also, be aware that many instructors will be teaching in buildings that may be new to them. Know that we made every effort to get classes into the buildings they normally teach in, or at least, we assigned buildings close to it.
  
• If you plan to schedule classes in departmental space, please notify ocmsched@umn.edu if it means a general purpose classroom can be released, or if you need any assistance.

New Facility ID: Remote

A new Facility ID of “Remote” has been created and has been added to all remote classes. As a reminder, remote classes are those coded in CCS as Completely Online (CO), which have set days and times in their meeting pattern as they are being taught synchronously via Zoom.

Previously, we used a Facility ID of “Online Only” or “Online” for remote classes. Going forward, we will only use the “Online Only” and “Online” Facility ID codes for classes that are Completely
Online (CO), with no set days/time. We hope this change will provide more clarity for students regarding a class’ teaching format.

Canceling classes for Fall 2020 with zero and low enrollments

Classes that will not be offered need to be cancelled in CCS as soon as possible and before the start of the term, as noted in the Course Enrollment Limits and Cancellation policy. Failure to cancel a class has a direct impact on students’ financial aid eligibility and degree progress. Please do not try to do workarounds to hide the class from the schedule.

To cancel classes with low enrollment, please do the following:

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, please refer to your college procedures.

To cancel classes with zero enrollment, change the Class Status to “Cancelled Section” on the Enrollment Control panel of CCS.

Departmental spaces and labs for fall 2020 reminder

Classes in departmentally controlled classrooms, labs, and specialized department rooms were not rescheduled by OCM the week of July 6, 2020. However, these spaces must still comply with physical distancing guidelines.

• If you need assistance in determining the physical distancing capacities for your departmental classrooms, please email classrm@umn.edu.
• If you have ANY open availability in your department classrooms after making adjustments, please contact ocmsched@umn.edu to work with our office, so we can add additional classes to those rooms.

Physical distancing example

We are placing chair signs in classrooms to guide appropriate physical distancing. This photo shows one classroom setup. Signs have been added to chairs where students should not sit. More information on what to expect in general purpose classrooms can be found on our 2020 explanations and guidelines web page.