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Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Upgrade poster campaign

The poster campaign will help build awareness of the systems interruption time and the new MyU. Posters will start appearing on classroom doors during spring break and digital signs will be displayed starting March 23. Copies of these posters will be available at upgrade.umn.edu/specialfor/communicators/posters.html before then if you would like to print any for your work area. You can request posters for classrooms by contacting Kate Sophia at ksophia@umn.edu

Astra Schedule access during the PeopleSoft Upgrade

Astra Schedule is the software the University uses to schedule classes. During the PeopleSoft Upgrade cutover period beginning April 10, 2015 all the interfaces between Astra Schedule and PeopleSoft will be shut down. Shutdown will occur at the end of the business day (4:30 p.m.) on Thursday, April 9, 2015.

No Academic Course Section room assignments will be possible in Astra Schedule during the cutover and access will be temporarily removed for current Astra Schedule Academic Schedulers. Astra Schedule functions and access will resume again on Monday, April 20, 2015 at the start of the day.

If you have questions about Astra Schedule Event Scheduling, please contact OCMSoftwareHelp@umn.edu. You can find additional information about the student systems impact of the Upgrade on the Upgrade Blog.

Extended session classes and financial aid eligibility

Classes that are held during the Extended Regular Session (session 011) are typically not financial aid eligible.

Academic Support Resources staff will be reaching out to departments with classes scheduled in the Extended Regular Session (011) for fall 2015 (1159) to determine if the classes are intended to be set up in a way that is financial aid ineligible, or if assistance in modifying class set-up to allow students to retain their financial aid eligibility is desired. The meeting pattern dates in Maintain Schedule of Classes are used to determine the actual dates of the classes and their financial aid eligibility.

ASR recognizes that some classes use the extended session to accommodate specific meeting patterns and that not all meeting patterns can meet federal financial aid eligibility guidelines. For those classes, departments need to make sure that students are aware of the impact.

If you schedule classes in the Extended Regular Session (011) and would proactively like to set up a time to discuss your class set-up and requirements, please contact Sarah Kussow, OCM Course & Scheduling Manager, directly.

Fall 2015 (1159) policy compliance distribution

Compliance with the Class Scheduling distribution policy for fall 2015 is not ideal. Coupled with the shortage of general purpose classroom space on the Twin Cities campus, we have a large number of classes that remain unplaced less than one week prior to the start of queued registration.

The graphic highlights policy compliance at the University level. Data is current as of 3/16/2015 and includes all class sections on the Twin Cities campus that we expect to require a general purpose classroom or those that are already assigned to a general purpose classroom as they are distributed across the day and week by time of day according to Standard A Time meeting patterns.


To assist with improving policy compliance, please:
  • Move classes out of the busiest times of the day. 
  • Cancel classes promptly if they will no longer be offered (do not change a class section to No Print and Zero Enroll Cap without releasing the classroom and inputting ROOM000TBA into the Facility ID field). 
  • Move classes to departmental space when possible. 
  • Make realistic enrollment projections. 
  • Monitor your department’s compliance using the Class Scheduling Distribution Summary
  • Do not add new class sections at trouble time spots without first determining that a general purpose classroom is available. 

We appreciate your support as we work through the fall schedule. Contact OCM Scheduling with questions about available time periods for general purpose classrooms.

Fall 2015 (1159) room assignments and classroom shortage

There is a shortage of general purpose classrooms beginning fall 2015.

The time periods we currently have reached capacity for classroom space include Tuesdays/Thursdays between 9:45 a.m.- 2:15 p.m. Do not add new classes during these times unless you have departmental space for it to meet in.

If you need to add a large class (anything with an enrollment cap of 75 or greater), you must contact OCM Scheduling to confirm that a room is available prior to opening it for enrollment. We cannot guarantee a general purpose classroom at every time period.

Check the Class Schedule to view current fall 2015 general purpose classroom assignments. Many departments will notice that placement is spanning both East Bank and West Bank. If a class is not assigned a room, that means that a general purpose classroom is not available at that time. You must begin considering a time/day change for the class or look for a departmental space for the class. Email ocmsched@umn.edu to confirm that a classroom in the appropriate capacity range will be available when changing times/days.

Remember: All room assignments are subject to change prior to the start of fall semester. Room assignments are not guaranteed. Changes will continued to be made to the Class Schedule throughout the spring and summer months as departments make adjustments to their classes.

You can find additional resources for scheduling classes on the OCM Website.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Last-chance CCS Training opportunities

The Academic Support Resources Student Record Training & Support team is offering last-chance opportunities for current and back-up schedulers to take the required Collaborative Class Scheduling (CCS) training. For those who haven't completed the CCS training, you can register for an upcoming course through ASR's Upgrade Training page.

Spring 2016 (1163) scheduling resources

ECS period 1 for spring 2016 (1163) is open through April 9. Remember to delete any class sections that have rolled forward but will not be taking place for spring 2016 and to update any class sections that require changes.

Be sure to review the Class scheduling distribution summary to check for compliance and the Liberal Education distribution summary to see how your classes that meet LE requirements are spread throughout the day and week.

Fall 2015 (1159) scheduling

Room assignments for fall 2015 (1159) will appear on the Class Schedule when ECS period 3 opens March 14. At that time, you will have access in ECS to make updates to course information (cancel, change, add).

Please note: changes made to meeting times, enrollment capacities, and/or requested room capacities will result in the loss of the classroom assignment. Because of space constraints on campus, be aware that we will not be able to guarantee a classroom for changes made during ECS period 3.

Room assignment changes will continued to be made to the Class Schedule throughout the spring and summer months.

Final exam scheduling for spring 2015 (1153) is underway

Please continue to notify Scheduling if a course section will not require a general purpose classroom during finals week. Email ocmsched@umn.edu with the subject line "Spring 2015 Final Exam" and the designator/section number(s) in the text.

Submit ASR form 163 or 123 by March 6, 2015 to request a change in day, time, or location of the exam. While the Office of Classroom Management (OCM) does its best to accommodate special requests, there is a possibility that your request may not be fulfilled. The spring 2015 final exam schedule and regulations are posted online, here.

Class Scheduling during Tate Lab of Physics renovation

Classroom space will be very tight from fall 2015 to summer 2017 during the Tate Laboratory of Physics renovation.

OCM appreciates the efforts that departments have already made to coordinate efforts and be flexible with times and days that classes meet to ensure that all classes have a place to meet in Fall 2015. We will continue to reach out to departments to explore alternate days and times during the busiest times on campus (9:45 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.) if classrooms are not available.

Per vice provost and dean of undergraduate education, Robert McMaster’s November 18, 2014 memo, we will continue to require all departments to make adjustments to their class schedules by:
If you have questions about space utilization, potential alternative days and times to offer a class, or have a departmental space you would like to offer to for other departments to use during the renovation, please email ocmsched@umn.edu.