Content pertaining to the Times Schedule & Room Assignments Team
Room Scheduling Process
The Initial Room Scheduling Process
General Assignment Classrooms are assigned based on the priority established in the Room Assignment Policy, information provided by the departments on the worksheets, and the scheduling programs algorithm.
Time Schedule Worksheets are distributed 6–8 months prior to the beginning of a quarter. The initial scheduling of classrooms is based on the information provided on these worksheets. The worksheets are designed to allow departments to request specific classrooms or to provide information that will aid in the classroom scheduling process. A room scheduling software program is used and schedules based on the following criteria:
Size of the course(If you list that you want a specific room, be sure the limit does not exceed the rooms capacity. The program will not assign a room to a course if the course limit is larger than the official room capacity.) Official room capacities are available from Academic Technologies list of buildings and classroom descriptions.
Location on campus (every department may define up to four levels of preferred classroom locations). You may change these locations by contacting the Time Schedule/Room Assignments Office, times@uw.edu
Classroom characteristics (a complete list of available characteristics.) Check-off boxes of the most commonly requested characteristics are listed on the worksheets.
Once all the pertinent course information has been entered into the Student Database, the program that assigns the rooms to the courses is run and all the rooms are assigned in one large batch process. The newly assigned rooms are then added to the course information in the Student Database.
Review sheets are then run and distributed to the department at which time they are made aware what rooms have been assigned to their courses.
Courses not assigned rooms fall into three categories:
The physical characteristics requested do not exist in the combination requested.
There are no longer classrooms with the requested characteristics at the day and time listed
There are no longer classrooms of the size requested at the day and time listed
Departments are then requested to alter the days, times, or course limit in order to be assigned a classroom.
Requesting Classrooms After the Initial Scheduling
Once the initial assignment of rooms has been made, scheduling is done on a first-come, first-served basis and any remaining classroom space becomes available for events and other non-academic uses. Contact the Room Assignments Office prior to submitting your course add or change to make certain that space is available at the time and days desired. Send email to times@uw.edu or call 206-685-0540.
Partition Preferences
Building Preferences
The classroom scheduling software uses a list of preferred building locations that are attached to each of the University’s curricula. These are called Partition Preferences within 25Live. Departments can select up to three sets of partition preferences. Defining partition preferences does not guarantee all courses will be placed in the building in the first preference.
Preference Order
The software first attempts to assign a course(s) in the first partition preference, then the second partition preference, and so on. The fourth partition preference group consists of any partitions not already selected, so the software can assign a room, if possible. When a specific room feature(s) or a building/room are selected via the Time Schedule construction tool, the scheduling software prioritizes that selection before the default partitions.
Also, Time Schedule defaults Active Learning Classrooms and Computer Labs in all group 1 partition preferences, even if you don’t request those rooms typically. We automatically include those in the first group, in case you ever do need those spaces.
To review or update your departmental partition preferences, please email times@uw.edu.
Course Modes
In 2021, student leadership requested more clarity in the time schedule about when and where a course would be delivered.
In response, the Tri-Campus Digital Learning Alliance developed new definitions for in-person, hybrid, synchronous, and asynchronous online courses. All three UW campuses piloted and adopted the definitions. They are now integrated with the MyPlan academic planning tool and MyUW.
Course Mode Decision Tree
The following decision tree is designed to help instructors and time schedule coordinators determine how to code a given course. Any course not indicated will default to in-person.
Course Modality Decision Tree
Course Mode Definitions
All course modes adhere to the dates of instruction listed in the UW Academic Calendar. Students are expected to participate in classes during the first week of the quarter and finish all coursework by the end of the quarter, regardless of course mode.
In-person
All required class meetings occur in a physical classroom. The course may also have online content and activities that students engage in outside of class time as homework or study materials. The time schedule contains information about the course’s required weekly physical classroom meeting time.
Hybrid
Students and instructors regularly interact in both the physical classroom and online. When not meeting in the physical classroom, students and instructors interact online, either through required synchronous sessions or required asynchronous activities. The time schedule contains information about the course’s required weekly physical classroom and synchronous meeting times (e.g., Mon/Wed, 1 p.m.-2 p.m. in-person, Fri, 1 p.m.-2 p.m. on Zoom).
Synchronous Online
Students and instructors interact online synchronously through regularly-scheduled, required meetings using applications such as Zoom. Students should also expect to interact with others and engage in course materials asynchronously. The time schedule contains information about the course’s regular, required synchronous meeting time.
Asynchronous Online
Students and instructors always interact with others and engage course materials asynchronously. While there are no regularly-scheduled, required synchronous class meetings, students are expected to meet all assignment deadlines and may be asked to schedule occasional, brief synchronous one-on-one check-in meetings with the instructors.
Understanding the “regular and substantive interaction” requirement in online courses
The US Department of Education expects online courses to include scheduled and predictable opportunities for learners to interact with the instructor and other students. Broadly speaking, “regular and substantive interaction” is interaction that:
Is initiated by the instructor
Pertains to the subject of the course
Occurs frequently and consistently throughout the term
To meet the federal threshold of “substantive,” online instructors must engage in at least two of the following five forms of interaction:
Assessing or providing feedback on a student’s coursework
Providing information or responding to questions about the content of a course or competency
Facilitating a group discussion regarding the content of a course or competency
Providing direct instruction
Other instructional activities approved by the institution’s or program’s accrediting agency
Updates visible in the online Time Schedule will better align codes with current practice and will involve a few changes, listed as follows.
Updated Letter Codes in the ‘Other’ Column
A – Asynchronous Online courses will now be flagged as ‘A’
O –Synchronous Online courses will now be flagged as ‘O’
B – Hybrid courses will still be flagged as ‘B’
The ‘D’ flag for distance learning no longer appears
Policies and practices around distance learning (e.g., curricular approval, definition of distance learning, etc.) remain the same, but now ‘A’ and ‘O’ will appear instead of ‘D’ in the online Time Schedule to avoid redundancy. UWT courses must select either ‘A’ or ‘O’ to accurately reflect course mode. UWB and UWS are invited to use the new codes or simply select ‘O’ for all online courses of either type.
Updated help window and automatic system comments
The help window for the ‘Other’ column in the online Time Schedule has been updated with the new terms. Please note that for the Autumn pilot, ‘O’ will be reserved for synchronous online courses on the UWT campus but will be the default code for all online courses on the UWB and UWS campuses.
The automatic system comments that are visible when you click on an SLN have been updated to ‘Hybrid’, ‘Synchronous Online Learning’, and ‘Asynchronous Online Learning.’
Course Modes FAQs
Course Modes FAQs
At the request of UW leadership, and in response to student and instructor need, the Tri-Campus Digital Learning Alliance developed and vetted the definitions, incorporating feedback from the following groups:
UW Tacoma Academic Policy and Curriculum Committee
Faculty Council on Teaching & Learning
Faculty Council on Student Affairs
Faculty Council on Academic Standards
Advisory Council on Technology-enhanced Teaching
UW Bothell Campus Council on Academic Standards
Associate Deans focus group
Administrative staff that support pedagogy and instructional technology on UW’s three campuses
Registrars from UW’s three campuses
Student focus group
Advisors
Yes. Over 120 faculty were consulted in the development of the definitions, including the chair of the Faculty Senate, members of three Faculty Councils, and faculty groups on the Bothell and Tacoma campuses.
UWT courses with a DL designation have always been required to indicate course mode in the time schedule. DL courses will therefore need to participate in the pilot of the new course mode definitions. Current plans are for UWS and UWB faculty to be invited, but not required, to participate in Spring 2023.
No. Hybrid courses are those that regularly meet in person for some class sessions and online for others. Occasional adjustments to schedules to accommodate travel, medical procedures or other planned events can be indicated in the syllabus.
Use the decision tree to select the course mode that best fits where and when your course is held. Add additional specifics or nuance to the Notes section of the time schedule.
Courses that don’t meet at a specific time or location, such as independent study, can remain uncategorized without a course mode code in the time schedule.
Yes. Required synchronous online class sessions fall within the same timeframe as the course’s in-person meeting time. For example, if your course meets Mon/Wed/Fri 1 p.m-2 p.m., any required synchronous online sessions would meet within the 1 p.m.-2 p.m. window on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday. The time schedule would include information about when and where the class is meeting (e.g., Mon/Wed 1 p.m.-2 p.m. in-person, Fri 1 p.m-2 p.m. on Zoom).
If your hybrid course meets asynchronously, the online portion of the course is driven by assignment deadlines and only the in-person required meeting times are listed in the time schedule.
There will be no formal communication with students in the pilot phase. Students can review the new course mode information and definitions in the time schedule for sections participating in the pilot. Student user groups shared feedback during development that the definitions were intuitive and easy to understand.
Integration with MyPlan is not in scope for the pilot, but plans are in place for MyPlan integration at a later date so students can better filter for course modes that work best for their schedules.
Standard U.S. immigration regulations allow international students on F-1 and J-1 visas to take hybrid courses that have in-person course meeting requirements. Students on F-1 and J-1 visas may take a maximum of one (1) course per quarter that is fully online with no in-person requirements, whether synchronous or asynchronous. More detailed information is available from International Student Services for F-1 full time enrollment or J-1 full time enrollment requirements.
Yes. Eligibility depends on course start and end dates, not course mode. To be eligible for financial aid in courses of any modality, students must
participate in classes during the first week of the quarter
finish all coursework by the end of the quarter
While this is true for all courses, faculty and students new to asynchronous online courses should be aware that this means meaningful participation – such as a post, activity, or assignment – should take place in the first week of the course.
The Office of the University Registrar will contact instructors to confirm first week engagement. If the office is unable to confirm, students enrolled in the course will be asked to contact the Office of Student Financial Aid to discuss impacts.
Possibly. To receive full benefits, veterans may only take one online course per quarter. Students using VA education benefits should contact the veterans office on their UW campus with any questions.