Dear Faculty Colleagues,
Last week, we sent a memo to chairs and program directors (hereafter, chairs), to help shape their thinking about how to structure a course schedule. We thought it would be useful for all faculty to have a version of this as you think through how to plan your courses in ways that take into account your own preferences while also being most beneficial to your students, your departmental curriculum, and all-University programs, including the Liberal Arts Core Curriculum (FSEMs, Cores, tagged courses, and areas of inquiry).
We reminded chairs that the Handbook notes that the “...primary responsibility for scheduling of courses rests with the department chair, who, after consulting with the faculty, submits a list of scheduled courses, instructors, meeting times, and rooms to the division director for approval.” We understand this as saying that course scheduling must be actively managed–a task that cannot happen without all faculty planning together, and even, in some cases, being willing to adjust what, when, or where they teach.
We asked that chairs please take into consideration historical balance (or imbalance) in individual faculty receiving their preference for desired teaching (e.g., preferred courses, times, days, rooms, etc.). Ideally this is something everyone in the department discusses in a department meeting while creating a balanced schedule that meets departmental and institutional needs. A common conversation can create the opportunity for a department or program as a whole to see any equity issues and to work to rebalance courses, rooms, and days/times to ensure course preferences are handled fairly (understanding a balance across semesters will need to be struck).
We hope, as you lay out what you would like to teach next semester (and in the spring as well), that you might consider course size in addition to content, level, and time/place. If we were to divide the student body across the number of courses we teach, every on-campus course would have about 18 students in it. Are you striking a balance of larger and smaller classes in your course projections? Are you volunteering to teach some larger courses that might allow colleagues to teach smaller ones?
Not all classes will have 18 or more students and there are often good pedagogical and practical reasons for this. However, having under-enrolled courses is often avoidable and careful planning can help avoid under-enrollment in courses that have the capacity for higher numbers. Carefully consider the frequency of the offering of optional courses that do not always enroll well, as well as how many sections are offered of courses that historically have low enrollment. We are stewards of the institution's generous, but limited, resources, and teaching power in general is one of the most important resources we allocate.
Under-enrolled courses in general signal that we have not thoughtfully allocated our resources. Per the Handbook:
- University policy requires that classes with an enrollment of ten or fewer students must have the permission of the division director and that classes with an enrollment of five or fewer students require the permission of the associate dean of the faculty. Courses with low enrollments will be reviewed by the department chair, division director, and dean of the faculty in order to determine future frequency of scheduling (it may be necessary, for example, to schedule low enrollment courses in alternate years). Classes with enrollments under 3 are expected to be taught as independent studies.
- Placing upper limits on the size of courses should be done with care and only for good cause. All such limits should conform reasonably to the overall needs of the University and must have the approval of the department chair and division director. Department chairs should notify the division director and the associate dean of faculty of any changes from semester to semester in enrollment limits.
When considering your own individual courses and the department/program's offerings as a whole, please give thought as to the best days and times to offer your courses. At times, scheduling courses in conflict with each other, or other popular courses on campus, may be helpful (for courses that tend to over-enroll, or when the department would prefer, for example, students to only take one of two 300-level courses offered). In contrast, if there are concerns that a course may not enroll well, placing it at a day/time when there are fewer course options may help enrollment.
Two final notes: Ideally all courses fit within the usual day/time schedule. Deviations cause problems for students and other faculty. Lastly, note that faculty should not be scheduled to teach three double-period courses on the same two days.
As always, thank you for the thought and care you put into our curriculum. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact one of us.
Sincerely,
Lesleigh and Doug
Lesleigh Cushing
Provost and Dean of the Faculty
Murray W. and Mildred K. Finard Professor of Jewish Studies and Professor of Religion
Douglas N. Johnson, Ph.D. (he, him, his)
Dean of Academic and Curricular Affairs
William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences