Policy title: COURSE SCHEDULING
Policy owner: Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Effective: Upon direction of the Provost
Policy summary: Fort Lewis College schedules courses in full terms and standardized parts of term to minimize time conflicts for students and ensure compliance with federal credit hour and financial aid disbursementregulations.
Policy Statement
1. During the Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters, undergraduate and graduate courses may be scheduledfor the full term (14 weeks) or, when necessary and justified, for a part of term (1-13 weeks). During the Augmester, only full term courses (3 weeks) will be scheduled.
A. Because under federal financial aid disbursement regulations, students may not be paid Pell grant funds related to a course enrollment until that course begins, part-of-term scheduling that begins after Week 1 should be only used when necessary and justified in order to minimize the impact on students’ financing.
2. To minimize time conflicts for students, all courses are expected to follow scheduling guidelines (see Appendix A).
3. In compliance with subregulatory guidance[1]from the U.S. Department of Education on the requirements to be a standard term[2] institution, all courses will have a start and end date within the boundaries of a single term.[3]
4. Each term will have one Census Date. Students are required to be registered in all courses for that term, regardless of the courses’ scheduling for a full term or part of term, by Census Date.
5. To comply with U.S. Department of Education credit hour regulations (34 CFR 600.2):
A. All courses will be scheduled to meet the direct instructional requirements set forth in Academic Credit Hour policy.
i. Fall and Spring courses scheduled for a part of term (1-13 weeks) may not use the final examination period to meet direct instructional requirements.
B. Courses assigned the following instructional types cannot be scheduled “TBA”: Art studio, lecture, laboratory, music study – ensemble, Physical Education and Recreation, and Recitation.
C. A note in the course scheduleis required for courses that do not meet in a regular pattern.
D. Full term and part-of-term courses will be represented in the official course schedule using the following convention:
i. Full term courses will be denoted on the course schedule as beginning the first Monday of a term and ending the Friday of the last day of classes.
ii. Part-of-term courses will be denoted on the course schedule as beginning on the exact day the course begins and ending on the exact day the course ends.
E. The instructional type of all courses will be stated on the course schedule.
6. To ensure the institution’s efficient compliance with federal financial aid disbursement regulations (34 CFR 668.164), courses scheduled for a part of term will be coded by the Registrar’s Office. See Appendix A for examples of parts of term approved for use in Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters in the past that may continue to be utilized.
A. Requests for a new part of term or an exception to the scheduling guidelines may be made to the dean’s designee. The dean’s designee will forward requests as deemed appropriate to the Uniform Scheduling Committee, which will provide a recommendation to the Provost, whose decision is final.
7. Courses submitted to the Registrar for scheduling that do not meet the requirements of this policy will be returned to the dean’s designee for adjustment.
Reason for Policy
This policy recognizes the need for part-of-term (1-13 weeks) scheduling in the Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters when necessary and justified, but requires such scheduling be standardized to minimizetime conflicts for students and ensure compliance with federal academic credit hour and financial aid disbursement regulations.
Responsibilities
For following the policy: All personnel who schedule courses
For enforcement of the policy: Registrar
For oversight of the policy: Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
For notification of policy: Policy Librarian
For procedures implementing the policy: Provost, Chair of Uniform Scheduling Committee, Registrar
Definitions
Full term Courses – Fall and Spring -- Full term courses begin the first day of classes and end the last day of classes as indicated on the academic calendar. Full-term Fall and Spring courses also meet during final examination week, unless the course is of an instructional type exempted by Final Examination Policy.
Full term Courses – Summer and Augmester -- Full term courses begin the first day of classes and end the last day of classes as indicated on the academic calendar. There is no designated final examination period for full term Summer and Augmester courses.
Part of Term Courses – Fall, Spring, Summer – Courses scheduled for a period less than the first day of classes and the end of the last day of classes as indicated on the academic calendar. There is no designated final examination period for part of term courses. No part of term courses can be scheduled in the Augmester.
Instructional Types – The instructional type (e.g., lecture, lab, internship) is assigned to a course during the curriculum approval process. A comprehensive list of Instructional types are specified in Academic Credit Hour policy.
Cross-Referenced Policies
Academic Calendar (under review)
Academic Credit Hour
Disbursement of Financial Aid (under development)
Final Examination (under review)
Appendix A: Scheduling Guidelines
Scheduling Guidelines – Fall and Spring
Fort Lewis College’s Academic Credit Hour policyis in compliance with the U.S. Department of Education, Higher Learning Commission and CCHE definitions of a credit hour. The following table gives the total number of minutes of direct instruction for various course formats at FLC.
FLC ClassSchedule / Classroom/Direct Instruction (minutes) / Instructional Types / Credit Hours55 minutes, 1 time per week / 770 / Lecture / 1
55 minutes, 2 times per week / 1540 / Lecture / 2
55 minutes, 3 times per week / 2310 / Lecture / 3
55 minutes, 4 times per week / 3080 / Lecture (calculus sequence only) / 4
85 minutes, 2 times per week / 2380 / Lecture / 3
120 minutes, 1 time per week / 1680 / Lab or art studio (2 hours) / 1
185 minutes, 1 time per week / 2590 / Lab or art studio (3 hours / 1
Additional instructional types (e.g. music studio, field experience, etc.) should consult the Academic Credit Hour Summary Chart
Possible Start Times:
1-credit lecture format:
55 minute blocks, M or W or F, starting at the following times:
8:00 am, 9:05 am, 10:10 am, 11:15 am, 12:20 pm, 1:25 pm, 2:30 pm, 3:35 pm, 4:40 pm
55 minute blocks, T or R, starting at the following times:
8:00 am, 9:35 am, 11:15 am, 2:30 pm, 4:05 pm
2-credit lecture format:
185 minute blocks, M or W or F with the following start times:
9:05 am, 1:25 pm
185 minute blocks, T or R with the following start times:
8:00 am, 2:30 pm, 5:45 pm
185 minute blocks, Tuesdays only, with the following start times:
11:15 am
185 minute blocks, M or W, with the following start times:
5:45 pm
3-credit lecture format:
55 minute blocks, MWF with the following start times:
8:00 am, 9:05 am, 10:10 am, 11:15 am, 12:20 pm, 1:25 pm, 2:30 pm, 3:35 pm, 4:40 pm
85 minute blocks, TR with the following start times:
8:00 am, 9:35 am, 11:15 am, 2:30 pm, 4:05 pm, 5:45 pm, 7:20 pm
85 minute blocks, MW with the following start times:
5:45 pm, 7:20 pm
165 minute blocks, either T or R, with the following start times:
2.30 pm** courses must be upper division and have pedagogical justification included with schedule submission
165 minute blocks, M, T, W, or R with the following start times:
5:45 pm
4-credit lecture format (only approved for Math 121, Math 221, Math 222, Math 223, Span 201, Span 202, Fr 201, Fr 202):
55 minutes MTWF or MWRF with the following start times:
8:00 am, 9:05 am, 10:10 am, 11:15 am, 2:30 pm, 3:35 pm, 4:40 pm
(Note: two courses should be scheduled at the same time MTWF and MWRF, using the same classroom on Tuesdays and Thursdays)
55 minutes MTWF ONLY:
12:20 pm, 1:25 pm
Labs or studios (3 hour):
185 minute blocks, M or W or F with the following start times:
9:05 am, 1:25 pm
185 minute blocks, T or R with the following start times:
8:00 am, 2:30 pm
185 minute blocks, Tuesdays only, with the following start times:
11:15 am
185 minute blocks, M, T, W, or R with the following start times:
5:45 pm
Labs or studios (2 hour):
120 minute blocks, M or W or F with the following start times:
9:05 am, 1:25 pm
120 minute blocks, T or R with the following start times:
8:00 am, 2:30 pm
120 minute blocks, Tuesdays only, with the following start times:
11:15 am
120 minute blocks, M, T, W, or R with the following start times:
5:45 pm
Appendix B: Example Parts of Term
These are examples of parts of term that have been approved in the past for Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters and will be allowed to continue. The creation of new parts of term must be proposed to the dean’s designee. Upon the recommendation of the dean’s designee, the Uniform Scheduling Committee will consider the request, and make a recommendation to the Provost, whose decision is final.
Fall Semesters
Part of Term Code / Start Date[4] / End Date[5] / Length of instructional period[6]Fa1 / 1st week of classes / 2nd week of classes / 2 weeks
Fa2 / 1st week of classes / 6th week of classes / 6 weeks
Fa3 / 1st week of classes / 7th week of classes / 7 weeks
Fa4 / 1st week of classes / 8th week of classes / 8 weeks
Fa5 / 1st week of classes / 9th week of classes / 9 weeks
Fa6 / 1st week of classes / 10th week of classes / 10 weeks
Fa7 / 2nd week of classes / 3rd week of classes / 2 weeks
Fa8 / 2nd week of classes / 14th week of classes / 13 weeks
Fa9 / 6th week of classes / 7th week of classes / 2 weeks
Fa10 / 6th week of classes / 8th week of classes / 3 weeks
Fa11 / 7th week of classes / 10th week of classes / 4 weeks
Fa12 / 7th week of classes / 14th week of classes / 8 weeks
Fa13 / 8th week of classes / 8th week of classes / 1 week
Fa14 / 8th week of classes / 10th week of classes / 3 weeks
Fa15 / 8th week of classes / 13th week of classes / 6 weeks
Fa16 / 8th week of classes / 14th week of classes / 7 weeks
Fa17 / 9th week of classes / 10th week of classes / 2 weeks
Spring Semesters
Part of Term Code / Start Date / End Date / Length of instructional period[7]Sp1 / 1st week of classes / 1st week of classes / 1 week
Sp2 / 1st week of classes / 7th week of classes / 7 weeks
Sp3 / 1st week of classes / 8th week of classes / 8 weeks
Sp4 / 1st week of classes / 10th week of classes / 10 weeks
Sp5 / 1st week of classes / 12th week of classes / 12 weeks
Sp6 / 2nd week of classes / 2nd week of classes / 1 week
Sp7 / 2nd week of classes / 3rd week of classes / 2 weeks
Sp8 / 4th week of classes / 4th week of classes / 1 week
Sp9 / 4th
week of classes / 5th week of classes / 2 weeks
Sp10 / 4th week of classes / 13th week of classes / 10 weeks
Sp11 / 5th week of classes / 6th week of classes / 2 weeks
Sp12 / 7th week of classes / 7th week of classes / 1 week
Sp13 / 7th week of classes / 8th week of classes / 2 weeks
Sp14 / 7th week of classes / 9th week of classes / 3 weeks
Sp15 / 8th week of classes / 14th week of classes / 7 weeks
Sp16 / 9th week of classes / 9th week of classes / 1 week
Sp17 / 9th week of classes / 13th week of classes / 5 weeks
Sp18 / 10th week of classes / 11th week of classes / 2 weeks
Sp19 / 10th week of classes / 12th week of classes / 3 weeks
Sp20 / 12th week of classes / 13th week of classes / 2 weeks
Summer Semesters
Part of Term Code / Start Date / End Date / Length of instructional periodSu1 / 1st week of classes / 1st week of classes / 1 week
Su2 / 1st week of classes / 3rd week of classes / 3 weeks
Su3 / 1st week of classes / 4th week of classes / 4 weeks
Su4 / 1st week of classes / 5th week of classes / 5 weeks
Su5 / 1st week of classes / 7th week of classes / 7 weeks
Su6 / 1st week of classes / 8th week of classes / 8 weeks
Su7 / 1st week of classes / 9th week of classes / 9 weeks
Su8 / 1st week of classes / 10th week of classes / 10 weeks
Su9 / 1st week of classes / 15th week of classes / 15 weeks
Su10 / 3rd week of classes / 8th week of classes / 6 weeks
Su11 / 5th week of classes / 10th week of classes / 6 weeks
Su12 / 6th week of classes / 8th week of classes / 3 weeks
Su13 / 6th week of classes / 9th week of classes / 4 weeks
Sp14 / 6th week of classes / 10th week of classes / 5 weeks
Su15 / 6th week of classes / 13th week of classes / 8 weeks
Su16 / 6th week of classes / 15th week of classes / 10 weeks
Su17 / 8th week of classes / 10th week of classes / 3 weeks
Su18 / 11th week of classes / 15th week of classes / 5 weeks
Su19 / 13th week of classes / 15th week of classes / 3 weeks
Su20 / 14th week of classes / 15th week of classes / 2 weeks
[1] Subregulatory guidance includes Federal Student Aid Handbook, 2015-2016, Vol. 3, Calculating Awards and Packaging; and General Provisions, Federal Register, Volume 61, Number 231, Page 60581.
[2] The U.S. Department of Education classifies institutions’ academic calendars as 1) standard, 2) nonstandard, 3a) nonterm – clock hour, and 3b) nonterm – credit hour.
[3]The approval of this policy will simultaneously effect a revision of the “Grades, Quality Points, and Grade Point Averages – Undergraduate” policy that eliminates the grade of IP, which is defined as a grade assigned to a student enrolled in a course approved toconclude after the "Last Day of Classes"on the academic calendar.
[4] Instructional weeks begin on Mondays.
[5] Instructional weeks end on Sundays.
[6] The length of instructional period excludes Thanksgiving break week.
[7] The length of instructional period excludes Spring break week.