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Academic Scheduling

Scheduling Guidelines

Guidelines for Scheduling of Lecture Classes

SCHEDULING GUIDELINES  PDF

One-Unit Course Scheduling Pattern: According to Weekday

M or W or F starting on the hour.

T or TH start time same as 3-unit TTH classes.

Two-Unit Course Scheduling Pattern: According to Weekday

M or W or MW (two 50 minute sessions) starting on the even hour. 

TTH (two 50 minute sessions) start time same as 3-unit TTH classes.

F (1 hour 50 minutes) starting on the hour.

 
Three-Unit Course Scheduling Pattern: According to Weekday
MWF TTH
Source: Course Catalog
0700 - 0750  
0800 - 0850 0800 - 0915
0900 - 0950 0930 - 1045
1000 - 1050 1100 - 1215
1100 - 1150 1230 - 1345
1200 - 1250 1400 - 1515
1300 - 1350 1530 - 1645
1400 - 1450  
1500 - 1550  

Room priority should be given to 3-unit courses scheduled MWF and TTH before 1600 (4:00 pm).

Courses can be scheduled in single 2-, 3- or 4-hour blocks (one day per week) after 1600 (4:00 pm)
provided the room is consistently scheduled.

Lecture/Lab and Lecture/Activity courses should be scheduled within the above-noted Scheduling
Guidelines when assigned to central, interdisciplinary rooms.

MW or WF scheduling (75 minutes each session) will NOT be permitted prior to 1600 (4:00 pm).


Four-Unit Course Scheduling Pattern: According to Weekday
* MW or TTH MTWTH
0800 - 0950 0800 - 0850
1000 - 1150 0900 - 0950
1200 - 1350 1000 - 1050
1400 - 1550 1100 - 1150
1600 - 1750 1200 - 1250
1800 - 1950 1300 - 1350
2000 - 2150 1400 - 1450
  1500 - 1550
  1600 - 1650

*Classes are scheduled for 110 minutes to allow a 10 minute break. Starting on the even hour.

Enrollment capacity should never exceed the room capacity because of safety issues and Fire Codes. Room capacity is established by a state formula based on the square footage of the room and the type of seating. Do NOT use "Permission Numbers" to add students if the enrollment is greater than the room capacity. 

  • On large capacity rooms, (those with seating capacity greater than 60) only schedule classes where
    expected enrollment is at least 75% of the room size.
  • 3- and 4-unit classes should not be scheduled in the same spaces on TTH.

Classes will need to meet the number of hours shown below. 

1 unit = 15 hours
2 units = 30 hours
3 units = 45 hours
4 units = 60 hours

1 unit = 750 minutes 

If a Topics Course of the same subject has been offered five times, prior to the sixth offering, the process to convert to a permanent course must be started or the course must be discontinued.  Here is a link to the Topic Course page for more information and the Topics Course Proposoal form.

Hybrid Class Set Up

  • Class Types:
    • Face-to-Face - Course activity is organized around scheduled class meetings; can be up to 20% online instructional activities without replacing any face-to-face class meetings (no Class Note needed)
    • Hybrid 1 Course - Online activity is mixed with classroom meetings replacing a significant percentage (21 percent to 66 percent), but not all, required face-to-face instructional activities (Class Note #66)
    • Hybrid 2 Course - Most course activity is done online (67 percent to 99 percent), but there are some required face-to-face instructional activities, such as lectures, discussions, labs, or other in-person learning activities (Class Note #67)
    • Online Course - All course activity is done online; there are no required face-to-face sessions within the course and no requirements for on-campus activity (Class Note #17)

Example of Hybrid 1 Class Set Up:

The class meets 3 hours/wk.  A regular schedule would be TTh 11-12:15. 

Hybrid Class Setup:
Meeting Pattern 1: T 11-12:15pm F2F (on campus)
Meeting Pattern 2: Th - "Online".  On meeting pattern #2 the faculty workload should always be "Not Included."  If there is no scheduled time, leave the day pattern blank.

Example of Hybrid 2 Class Set Up:

The class meets 3 hours/wk.  A regular schedule would be MWF 9-9:50am. 

Hybrid Class Setup:
Meeting Pattern 1: M 9-9:50am F2F (on campus)
Meeting Pattern 2: WF - "Online. On meeting pattern #2 the faculty workload should always be "Not Included."  If there is no scheduled time, leave the day pattern blank.

Zero Cost Course Materials (ZCCM)

California legislation (SB 1359) requires the CSU to “Clearly highlight, by means that may include a symbol or logo in a conspicuous place on the online campus course schedule, the courses that exclusively use digital course materials that are free of charge to students and may have a low-cost option for print versions.” And to “Clearly communicate to students that the course materials used for the courses identified … are free of charge and therefore not required to be purchased.”

Course schedules produced after January 1, 2018 are required to implement this provision.

Courses using instructional materials such as open educational resources (OER), library resources, public domain resources; and faculty-created materials for which there is no charge can use the symbol.  If a course requires students to purchase materials other than textbooks, e.g. calculators, insurance, LIVESCAN, safety goggles, etc., then the designation cannot be used.

If there is no instructor assigned to a course section at the time the course schedule is published, the zero cost course materials designation should not be used unless it is a departmental decision for course materials in multi-section courses.

ZCCM: Classes cannot be designated as Zero Cost Course Materials (ZCCM) classes if they require students to purchase any materials or pay any additional fees for that specific class. This includes, but is not limited to the following:

  • Textbook(s)
  • eBooks that have to be purchased for access
  • Mobile/digital device(s)
  • Livescan
  • Mandatory insurance
  • Protective/safety goggles
  • Paint brushes or other supplies required for the class
  • Special calculators

DISCOVERe infuses mobile technology into the classroom experience, providing students with engaging material through the use of laptops, tablets or smartphones.

Searching for DISCOVERe rooms:

  • Curriculum Management
  • Facility and Event Information
  • Search for a Facility
  • Set the Facility Partition to 90 (DISCOVERe rooms)

List of DISCOVERe trained faculty

List of DISCOVERe classrooms

Here is a link for more information on the DISCOVERe Program.

HyFlex is a course design model that combines face-to-face with online learning that gives students options for attending in person, participating virtually, or watching recordings. Students may be given the choice to change their mode of attendance according to need or preference throughout the term. 

Class Note #73 

List of HyFlex trained faculty

List of HyFlex classrooms

Affordable Learning Solutions (AL$) is a campus-wide initiative to lower the cost of course materials by 30% or more by providing no- or low-cost options for textbooks and other course materials, also known as Open Educational Resources (OER). For more information about AL$ classes please contact the Center for Faculty Excellence (CFE) at 278-6892.

The Kennel Bookstore is a partner in this initiative and offers many AL$ options for faculty and students:

  • New and Used Books
  • Rental Books
  • Digital books including CSU Rent Digital, CourseSmart/Vitalsource and CengageBrain
  • Alternate formats and customization
  • Price match guarantee for course materials

** A class cannot be designated as both DISCOVERe and Fully-online

** A class can have both a DISCOVERe and HyFlex designation, as students meeting in the classroom can make use of their devices

** A class can be both Hybrid (1 or 2) and DISCOVERe, as students can make use of their devices during the F2F meetings

** Immediate Access can be paired with any of the other designations

** AL$ can be paired with any of the other designations (except ZCCM)

** ZCCM can be paired with all other designations, including DISCOVERe, but not AL$

The university's investment (including money, time, and infrastructure) in training faculty in our DISCOVERe and HyFlex programs is extensive. When they are not assigned to a DISCOVERe or HyFlex room, they are not able to fulfill the terms of the MOU. They should also receive preference when assigning these rooms because of the investment by the university in these programs and their training.  Please verify the names on the DISCOVERe and HyFlex lists provided to ensure that the faculty are properly assigned.

If you have questions regarding DISCOVERe- or HyFlex-trained faculty, please reach out to CFE (Center for Faculty Excellence).

Matriculated students in good standing may request to enroll in one course per term at a CSU host campus.

Here is a link to Office of the University Registrar for more information on CSU Fully Online.

Here is a link to CSU Fully Online for mor information.

There are some types of courses that do not work well with the CSU Fully Online program, which requires classes to have no on-campus meetings or access to local resources (i.e. for Internship or Service Learning courses) or any other requirements unable to be fulfilled by students from other CSU campuses:

  • 190/290 Courses – Independent Study
  • “I” Courses – Internships
  • 500 Courses – Doctoral (Education, PT, Nursing)
  • Service-learning Courses
  • Some College/program-specific Courses (KSOEHD) 

Training Materials: