Spring Break
Block scheduling changes proposed
by Nashrah Rahman
Editorial assistant
News | 4/21/09
Posted online at 8:18 AM EST on 4/21/09
The Block Scheduling Committee, composed of faculty, staff and students, has proposed that more biweekly courses that are 80 minutes long in session should be scheduled during the week than triweekly courses that are 50 minutes long per session, according to a campuswide e-mail sent by Provost Marty Krauss on April 9.
The committee's report also recommended implementing a full schedule of classes on Thursdays so that classes end at 2 p.m. on Fridays. The committee has suggested that faculty meetings that are currently held on Thursdays should be consequently scheduled on Fridays. The committee report also recommends changing the starting time for classes to on the hour or half hour and ending 10 minutes before the hour. The report also recommends that the registrar should schedule classes such as the main science and larger lecture courses.
"The current practice of beginning 10 minutes after the hour is unusual and does not match the schedules kept by the vast majority of schools in our greater community," according to the report. The report states that by following starting and ending times for classes that are consistent with the greater community, it will be easier for students to make work study appointments outside Brandeis.
University Provost Marty Krauss, who is charged with evaluating the committee's report, said that these recommendations will be discussed this fall, and if passed, they will be used for the 2010 to 2011 academic year.
According to Krauss, the committee was created last year. Considering the different teaching methods and requirements on campus, Krauss said that the University wanted to schedule classes to accommodate different teaching lengths, such as those used by lab sessions, and to suit a variety of teaching environments such as those of advanced classes.
The report states that the proposals used data collected based on a university report regarding classroom use in fall 2007, as well as surveys about class blocks completed by faculty, staff and students. Data was also collected on the class scheduling practices at other institutions.
The committee's report also recommended implementing a full schedule of classes on Thursdays so that classes end at 2 p.m. on Fridays. The committee has suggested that faculty meetings that are currently held on Thursdays should be consequently scheduled on Fridays. The committee report also recommends changing the starting time for classes to on the hour or half hour and ending 10 minutes before the hour. The report also recommends that the registrar should schedule classes such as the main science and larger lecture courses.
"The current practice of beginning 10 minutes after the hour is unusual and does not match the schedules kept by the vast majority of schools in our greater community," according to the report. The report states that by following starting and ending times for classes that are consistent with the greater community, it will be easier for students to make work study appointments outside Brandeis.
University Provost Marty Krauss, who is charged with evaluating the committee's report, said that these recommendations will be discussed this fall, and if passed, they will be used for the 2010 to 2011 academic year.
According to Krauss, the committee was created last year. Considering the different teaching methods and requirements on campus, Krauss said that the University wanted to schedule classes to accommodate different teaching lengths, such as those used by lab sessions, and to suit a variety of teaching environments such as those of advanced classes.
The report states that the proposals used data collected based on a university report regarding classroom use in fall 2007, as well as surveys about class blocks completed by faculty, staff and students. Data was also collected on the class scheduling practices at other institutions.
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 4
Noy
posted 4/22/09 @ 8:27 AM EST
I'm currently a grad student at GW and all of my classes start 10 minutes after the hour
Alan Royals
posted 4/22/09 @ 11:14 AM EST
Some discussion on how Friday afternoon faculty meetings would affect shomer shabbos faculty would be nice.
Gideon
posted 4/24/09 @ 12:29 AM EST
This is a long comment. It's the response email I sent to the chair of the BSC, as well as the administrative heads in charge of it and the two undergrads on the committee. (Continued…)
Gideon Klionsky
Gideon
posted 4/24/09 @ 12:31 AM EST
This is a long comment. It's the response email I sent to the chair of the BSC, as well as the administrative heads in charge of it and the two undergrads on the committee. (Continued…)
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