Guidelines and FAQs
Questions
See below for information about the most commonly asked questions. If you have questions about the following, email Course Scheduling at schedc@middlebury.edu:
- Scheduling sections
- Scheduling final exams
Scheduling
Course Scheduling will schedule room and time assignments for the following:
- Fall/Winter/Spring Courses
- Additional rooms during scheduled class times
- Changes to course lecture/lab/discussion/screening meeting times
- Changes to academic room assignments (enrollment changes, alternate room requests, etc…)
- Final Exam scheduling (Exam type changes, additional room requests, etc…)
- Final examinations held outside assigned times
- Make-up classes
The Department of Events Management will schedule any other ad hoc academic activities or non-academic events organized by academic departments, such as the following:
- Lectures and guest speakers that are open to the campus or the public
- Review sessions
- Non-final exam related exam requests (weekly and midterm exams)
- Additional film screenings
- Miscellaneous additional room requests
- Symposia
- Library and technology course-based workshops
- Job talks
- Meetings (including department faculty meetings, tutoring, and T.A. help sessions)
Consult with the Department of Event Management website for College policies regarding the scheduling of events.
Additional Information
Q Course Scheduling Times
For classes that have three 50-minute meetings a week:
- 8:40 - 9:30 MWF
- 9:45 - 10:35 MWF
- 11:15 - 12:05 MWF
- 1:10 - 2:00 MWF
- 2:15 - 3:05 MW + 1 Friday am 50-minute block
- 3:20 - 4:10 MW + 1 Friday am 50-minute block
- 8:40 - 9:30 TRF
- 9:45 - 10:35 TRF
- 11:15 - 12:05 TRF
- 1:10 - 2:00 TRF
- 2:15 - 3:05 TR + 1 Friday am 50-minute block
- 3:20 - 4:10 TR + 1 Friday am 50-minute block
For classes that have two 75-minute classes a week:
- 8:15 - 9:30 MW
- 9:45 – 11:00 MW
- 11:15 - 12:30 MW
- 12:45 - 2:00 MW
- 2:15 - 3:30 MW
- 8:15 - 9:30 TR
- 9:45 – 11:00 TR
- 11:15 - 12:30 TR
- 12:45 - 2:00 TR
- 2:15 - 3:30 TR
- 7:30 - 8:45 MW
For classes that have one meeting a week:
- 1:30 - 4:15 any day (M - R)
- 7:30 - 10:25 M, T or W
For classes that have multiple lab sessions, one section may meet at one of the following times:
- 8:15 – 11:00 am R
- 8:15 – 11:00 am F
Q Evening Classes
Three-hour classes may be scheduled from 7:30 - 10:25 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. 75-minute classes may be scheduled from 7:30 - 8:45 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays. Screenings may be scheduled on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings. Evening classes on other nights must be approved by the dean of the faculty or designate. Athletic contests will not be scheduled on Monday evenings.
Q Examinations outside of Class Time
Mid-term examinations given outside of class should be scheduled on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. or Friday at 2:30 p.m. whenever possible. Faculty scheduling mid-terms on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday evenings must offer alternate examination times to students who have a regularly scheduled class or screening on one of those evenings.
Q Other Guidelines
- Screenings may be scheduled on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings. Students who have legitimate conflicts (exams, athletic contests) with a scheduled screening may request to view the screening at an alternate time, i.e. through the Media Services reserve holdings..
- Any time changes to courses after the completion of Banner data entry require approval from the department chair and the dean of curriculum before such changes take place.
Q Distribution
- Departments must schedule their courses so that no more than approximately 50 percent of lecture sections are offered during the “prime time hours:” MWF/TRF at 9:45, 11:15, and MW/TR at 9:45 and 11:15.
- Departments are prohibited from scheduling discussion sections during the “prime time hours.” Discussion sections should be scheduled during the 8AM hour, on Fridays, in the afternoons, or at 7:30 p.m. on evenings on which classes are held. Language drills and 4th hours may be scheduled during the “prime time hours.”
- Departments must offer 1 out of 11 of their lecture sections in the 8:00 a.m. time blocks (no change from current policy). Departments that offer multiple-section courses with an enrollment of primarily first-year students are encouraged to schedule at least one of the sections during the 8:00 a.m time block. Evening courses can also fulfill an 8:00am requirement.
- In order to reduce conflicts with afternoon laboratories and discussion sections, departments are encouraged to schedule high-enrollment 100-level lecture courses in the mornings.
- 50-minute and 75-minute classes may not be scheduled in ways that cut across two standard time blocks.
- Classes that meet five days a week must be scheduled so that they fully utilize two of the standard time blocks, rather than spreading across three time blocks.
- Courses with two or more distinct lecture sections offered in the same semester must be scheduled so that all lecture sections meet at different times.
Q Section Numbering
- Sections are identified by letters A - L, beginning with A.
- Additional course meetings of these classes (discussions, drills, labs, screenings) are identified by letters Z - M, beginning with Z.
Q Winter Term Guidelines
- Classes should meet at least 8 hours/week. It is preferable that classes meet 4 times a week in 2-hour time blocks, but it is also acceptable for classes to meet, at a minimum, 3 times a week
- Classes meeting only three times may not meet for three consecutive days.
- There are three standard time blocks for Winter Term classes, each of them on all five days of the week:
- 8:15 a.m. - 10:15 a.m.
- 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
- any combination of hours between 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
- Please try to schedule courses using these standard time blocks, for example 4 days a week in one of the morning time slots, or three days a week in the afternoon time slot.
- Some intensive courses will meet for both standard time blocks in the morning.
- Evening classes follow the same rules as found above for Fall and Spring Terms.
Q Special Needs
- If additional audio-visual (AV) equipment or staffing is required, it is important that you contact the helpdesk email helpdesk@middlebury.edu or ext. 2200. Most AV equipment is moved from room to room in response to the needs expressed in a given semester. It is not safe to assume that a room will have the same equipment it contained last semester.
- For information regarding film screenings please consult the Media Services website.
- Requests for additional furniture, portable blackboards, lecterns, etc., should be submitted to the Course Scheduling Office, ext. 5069, and not directly to Facilities Services.
Q Priority Guidelines used by the Course Scheduler
- Courses with special or technical needs, such as lab equipment or computer labs, or video conferencing will receive priority for rooms with equipment that meets those needs, and will be scheduled first.
- Number of students enrolled will determine the size of room in which course is scheduled.
- Particular room style needs (seminar, lecture, auditorium) will be considered next.
- Where needs are identical, preference for a particular room or time slot will be given to departments that adhere to the scheduling guidelines stated above.
Q Scheduling Other Activities
If you need to schedule a non-course related activity (a lecture, meeting, etc.) contact Event Management using the on-line Event Reservation Request form.