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Scheduling: A Student-Centered Approach

Introduction  

This resource is intended for faculty and other college stakeholders who are looking to improve college course scheduling so that it is intentionally designed to meet the needs of their student population. Over the years, as the diversity of the student population has increased and its demographics shifted, student course-taking patterns changed for numerous reasons such as but not limited to compressed calendars, block schedules, online schedule options, institutional redesigns resulting from Guided Pathways efforts, and, most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic which placed almost all instruction in a completely online format. As colleges move forward navigating and defining a new normal with an increased focus on teaching and learning, course scheduling will need re-evaluation.

 

ASCCC Guided Pathways Visual

Embedded circles showing levels of GP involvement

 

This module provides examples of student scheduling conflicts, recommendations for collecting and examining data, and considerations for including stakeholders to evaluate and redesign the college class schedule.

 

Impact of Scheduling on Student Completion

Scenarios:

  1. Reduced Faculty/Section Availability

It is the fall semester and a student who intends to graduate in spring needs a differential equations course as part of their major. The student currently works Monday through Friday, 8am-5pm and has completed their course work to this point online (at various colleges) and by taking evening courses at their local community college. However, the student’s local community college only offers one section of the course per 16-week semester and it is scheduled when the sole full-time faculty member who teaches the course is available. The college and the faculty member have an agreement to stagger the course offering with a morning section in the fall and an afternoon section in spring. Neither a summer section nor an online section is offered at the student’s local community college. And, the nearest course offering at another community college campus would require a one-way two-hour commute for the student on a Saturday morning. The course is not generally offered online by any college.

How might the student’s local community college adjust its scheduling of the course to meet the student’s need?

 

  1. Course Offerings on Rotation

The English department offers three of their specialty literature courses on a three-year rotation in spring semesters. Each course has English 001 (College Composition) listed as a prerequisite, and all the specialty literature courses count toward GE requirements. 

Sofia enrolls at the college in spring of 2020 and takes English 001 the same semester. She is also interested in the Chicana literature course she saw in the spring 2020 schedule, but that course will not come up again in the rotation until spring 2023, by which time Sofia hopes to have graduated.

How might the student’s local community college adjust its scheduling of the course to meet the student’s need?

 

  1. Departmental Course Ownership

For students to transfer to the CSU they are required to pass classes in the GE categories which usually have options in numerous departments covering many courses. With a Guided Pathways perspective, one college increased the number of Written Communication (Area A2) courses available so that there were adequate sections available for all students declaring transfer within their first semester.

However, it soon became apparent that there was a bottleneck in two additional areas which were also required for transfer and had limited offerings. Area A1-Oral Communication and Area A3-Critical Thinking course requirements were primarily met through courses from small departments and, each semester, the sections available for these courses were less than 50% of the sections offered for English composition. An analysis of comparable course offerings at other colleges found more choice and more sections of oral communication and critical thinking courses. The college’s departments that provided these courses had limited offerings, too few faculty members to provide more sections, and protested that other departments were not qualified to teach critical thinking options, despite what was indicated by the statewide list of accepted transfer courses.

What conversations need to occur? Who needs to be part of these conversations?

 

  1. Low Enrollment impacting Academic Maps

Due to single digit enrollment at census, the Vice President of Instruction directed the dean to cancel the Feminist Philosophy class for the second year in a row.  Offered only in spring semester, Feminist Philosophy is one of two required core courses for the college’s Associate in Arts Degree for Women/Gender Studies.  The academic map for this AA degree program advises students to take this core course in the second semester of a two-year plan. With the course being canceled for the second spring in a row, a new cohort of students will find that they cannot count on completing the program in two years.

How might the college adjust its course offerings to help students complete their program?

 

  1. Courses Available do not meet Degree Requirement

A student took math for business majors because her close friend recommended it and, as the only math course offered in the evening, it fit into her schedule.  However, she is an allied health major and, thus, math for business majors is not on her educational plan and will not count towards her degree. The counselor she met with has assured her that while it will not count towards her major, it will transfer.

How might the college better serve this student?

 

Collect Data on Student Course-Taking Needs and Patterns

  1. Survey students
    • What hours/days can you take courses?
    • What hours/days do you prefer to take courses?
    • How many units do you prefer to take each term?
    • What modality works best for you? Online, in-person, hybrid online, synchronous, asynchronous, hybrid-synchronous? Other?
    • Are class scheduling and attendance requirements clearly communicated?

 

  1. Examine student course-taking patterns
    • How many units do/can students take? This question may produce two different answers based on “do” and “can”
    • What GE courses are popular and when are they offered?
    • What are unpopular days/times for course offerings?
    • What modalities are popular?
    • What are the success rates by modality, days, time?
    • What are the gaps in scheduling?

 

  1. Build Program Maps Based on Student Load
    • Full-Time (15 units per term/12 units per term)
    • Part-Time (less than 12 units per term)
    • Alternate Day/Evening cohort offerings

 

  1. Special Populations
    • Athletes
    • Cohorts
    • Students that need to get back on path or modify path

 

  1. Scheduling adjustments for students with a break in course-taking sequence
    • Cohort based (nursing, allied health)
    • Sequentially-based (STEM)

 

Examine Schedule Parameters

  1. Facilities
  2. FTEF
  3. Faculty contract and agreements regarding course assignment/load (number of preps, length of day, time of day, number of days, which days)
  4. Schedule coordination within departments and among multiple departments
  5. Block schedules, Online Synchronous, Online Asynchronous, Hybrid options
  6. Classroom ownership

 

Collaboration among Faculty, Administrators, and Researchers

  1. Enrollment Management Committee: Do you have one? Who serves on it? How are decisions made?
  2. Understand Roles and Responsibilities of each group
  3. Create a plan focusing on student needs yet staying within necessary parameters
  4. Be flexible
  5. Consider scheduling needs from a program (not a discipline) perspective

 

 

Resources: When Janet gets back, Ginni will get resources from her.

 

Team: Ginni, Jeff, Janet, Sarah, Juan, Meridith

Media: Links provided

  • Webinar in GPTF Series
  • Breakout session at Spring Plenary, CIO Conference, Curriculum Institute
  • Canvas Page in GP Canvas Course