Departmental curricular representatives, with the support of CALS Academic Affairs and the Office of the Registrar, are working hard to make necessary updates to fall course offerings in Course Search and Enroll so that students understand how courses will be taught in fall and can plan their schedules according to their needs. The deadline for instructors and programs to request appropriately-sized classrooms and finalize their course modality – if the class will be offered in-person, online or a hybrid of each – was Friday, July 3 at 4:30.

Using this updated information, the staff in the Registrar’s Office will begin assigning rooms that meet physical distancing guidelines for in-person course activities. As a result of the process, along with necessary upgrades to the IT systems, the revised schedule for courses available through Course Search and Enroll will be completed after July 20. Returning students should wait to make schedule changes until after July 20. The systems need to remain online during this transition period because incoming students are currently enrolling during SOAR, but it will not reflect the final course schedules during this transition time.

The most important criteria in assigning classrooms for this fall will be room capacity and accommodating as many in-person course activities as possible. Other criteria, including schedule and proximity of the classroom to the home department, will be considered, but will be less important than meeting public health guidelines for physical distancing.

In mid-July, the Registrar’s office will send updated schedules and room assignments to Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Karen Wassarman. Wassarman will work with individual programs to finalize assignments based on the priorities of each program.

Classrooms will be assigned so students can maintain 6 feet of distance in all directions from other participants. This approximately equals 61-75 square feet per student, depending on the layout of the room. Rooms designed with tables and chairs are less conducive to physical distancing, and Facilities Planning and Management is altering some rooms and replacing tables with movable tablet arm chairs. Lab courses face additional complications, but instructors are finding creative solutions that are safe while maintaining the high impact of hands-on experiences.

Departmental curricular representatives will continue to work with instructors on assignments and communication to students about expectations for each course. Programs with questions about their course plans and space requirements should contact Associate Dean Karen Wassarman as soon as possible.