The Observer, November 16, 2007
Volume XL, Issue 11
Proposed course grid changes, rearranges sanctioned free time
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With increasing enrollments and more classes being offered within departments, students are finding some problems with Case's current course grid. Lack of classroom space and class times overflowing into students' extracurricular periods are two problems that are under scrutiny right now.
According to Donald Feke, vice provost for undergraduate education, a small group of faculty and students approached former provost John Anderson wondering why a department would schedule a course required by a major during an afternoon time slot. Students within the major could not take the course and participate in a varsity sport at the same time.
This problem has been given to Feke to solve, with some help from the university's constituents. According to Feke, the first question to be asked is, "Are we an activities-friendly place?"
A proposed solution to this problem is to enact a set "undergraduate activities period" from 4:30-6:30 p.m. every weekday. According to Feke, a number of schools have such a period built into their schedules, indicating that it is a viable option.
No courses would be allowed to be scheduled during this time unless they fall under one of the following exceptions: other sections of the same course are offered at a different time (in either the fall or spring semester), the course is purely elective in nature, the course does not overlap with the Activities Period for more than two hours in a week, or the course is a performance course (including theatre, dance, and music).
Some students don't see the merit in such an addition. "We've never catered to sports in the past," said fourth-year student Tom Attenweiler. "Why start now?"
The other problem Feke is working on is the lack of classroom space at the university. There is a distinct shortage during the most popular class times â€" between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. daily.
A possible solution to this problem is to eliminate the Thursday Provost Hour and introduce a new class period on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. The new time slot would likely not affect current department schedules, but would open up a space for new classes as they are created, according to Feke.
The Provost Hour was created in the 80s in response to student requests about safety â€" common exams at the time were scheduled in the evenings and students expressed concern about walking back to their dorms late at night.
The proposed new course grid would leave an allowance for the common exam period to remain Thursdays from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Courses utilizing this exam block would be required to submit to the registrar the specific dates on which exams would be scheduled, giving students the ability to find potential exam conflicts during the scheduling period.
Currently, the Provost Hour is used by only a few classes for these common exams; the block is mostly used for group meetings, lectures, and events in Thwing. According to Feke, some faculty and students have expressed a concern about the number of these events that take place, limiting the ability to attend as many as one might like.
USG was consulted about the proposed changes, but did not pass a resolution to implement them as stated, especially with the elimination of Provost Hour. "We think it's really important for undergraduates to have that time free to build community," said USG President Adam Rupe.
Another option for adjusting the number of courses being scheduled during popular times of the day is to give the registrar's office full control over scheduling classes.
"Right now the university is largely one in which decisions on when classes are taught is in the hands of the departments," said Feke.
Individual departments schedule class times, leading to an overabundance of courses in the late morning and early afternoon, when not only students but professors are more inclined to attend class. This leaves many openings in the early-morning and late-afternoon time slots for courses.
"I was personally shocked to find out that the faculty get to choose when they teach," said Rupe. Rupe thinks it makes sense for the registrar's office to take over responsibility for scheduling, with a student committee available to inform the registrar of potential scheduling conflicts.
Feke has talked to several faculty and student groups on campus about the proposed course grid changes, but is willing to accept alternate ideas from anyone. Suggestions should be sent to donald.feke@cwru.edu.
