One Contact Hour a Week
Whenever possible utilize non-prime hours for once-a-week classes. During prime hours, evenly distribute these classes both by class time and day of week.
Preparation of Schedule Requests
Arrangements must be made in advance to add a course or alter the meeting time or place for all courses scheduled in university classroom auditoria of 96 seats or more or for TILE classrooms. Please contact Char Maher (335-0221) as soon as possible in order to make these arrangements. Do not alter TILE classrooms or large lecture information in MAUI Planner without coordinating with Classroom Scheduling first as the new time may result in a day/time combination where no availability exists. Priority in these rooms is retained by unchanged courses from the previous like semester (fall to fall, spring to spring) and by departments which make advanced arrangements.
Classrooms will be assigned based on projected enrollment and building preference of the department. First priority is departmental home building, then buildings nearby within the scheduling region whenever possible. A specific room may be requested only if there is a special need such as a disability. Otherwise, the room notation in the Room Preferences field in MAUI Offerings Planner will be considered as a request only. You must note the specific type of equipment required for each course in the Media Preferences field, such as computer (MAC or PC), VCR, DVD player, or document camera. Departments also are reminded of the availability of evening hours for scheduled instruction.
Computing Contact Hours
Office of the Provost Contact Hour Definition
The formula for calculating contact hours is as follows.
- Take 750 for classroom instructional time (1 s.h. is equivalent to 750 minutes of instructional time).
- Multiply by the number of semester hours for which the course will be offered.
- Divide that figure by the total number of days the course will be held.
- Round up to the nearest 5 minutes.
- This figure will equal the number of minutes required for classroom instruction a day.
For offerings by professional colleges/programs, see accrediting body for contact hour guidelines.
Computing Contact Hours by Semester
Course and Meeting Patterns
The primary goal of the Office of the Registrar is to maximize courses, staff, and teaching spaces while reducing campus operating costs to be fiscally responsible and environmentally conservative. This focus is especially imperative in the fiscally challenged years ahead. Following standard scheduling patterns with compatible start and ending times allows the overall schedule to fit together with less conflict in a consistent and equitable manner. It is expected all course offerings will be submitted to the Office of the Registrar with even distribution between Monday/Wednesday/Friday and Tuesday/Thursday offerings at 50% each. All classes, regardless of length, must begin at the official start times. For complete breakdown of approved time patterns, click here.
Two Contact Hours a Week
Classes that meet for 50 minutes, two days per week, have two scheduling options available:
- Tuesdays and Thursdays adhering to the standardized time patterns (see column 4)
- A combination of Monday/Wednesday or Wednesday/Friday standardized time patterns paired with a single day, one contact hour class to fulfill the three-day meeting pattern and eliminating classroom inefficiency.
Three Contact Hours a Week
Classes that meet for three contact hours have three scheduling options available:
- Monday/Wednesday/Friday or the three-day, non-Monday/Wednesday/Friday standardized time pattern (see columns 1 or 6 of the Approved Class Meeting Time Model)
- Tuesday/Thursday, 75-minute standardized time pattern (see column 2 only)
- Monday/Wednesday, 75-minute standardized time pattern (see column 3 only)
Regardless of scheduling option, an even distribution between Monday/Wednesday/Friday and Tuesday/Thursday offerings is required.
Four or Five Contact Hours a Week
Classes with four or five contact hours have two options in scheduling:
- Two consecutive or back-to-back approved time periods on two days from the Monday/Wednesday/Friday meeting pattern (e.g., MW 1:30-3:20 p.m. or WF 9:30-11:20 a.m.)
- 50-minutes, four/five days a week, following the approved class times of the Monday/Wednesday/Friday meeting pattern
One Day a Week Courses Greater than 120 Minutes or Two Contact Hours
Standard class times will be strictly adhered to when the course is open to undergraduate enrollment in university classrooms (graduate sections are exempt). However, in some cases, a desire to schedule a single day of the week that extends beyond 120 minutes exists. In order to do so, the course requires justification from the Department Chair to be e-mailed to renee-houser@uiowa.edu, who will route the e-mail to the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education for review. Further, these courses must be scheduled on the Monday/Wednesday/Friday standardized meeting pattern and paired in some manner with an alternate course(s) to fulfill the three-day meeting pattern and eliminating classroom inefficiency during prime time. One day a week classes scheduled at 5:30 p.m. or later on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday; or at 5:00 p.m. or later on Tuesday or Thursday; do not require pairing. Currently, film screening section types are exempt from this rule and require no prior approval; however, course pairing is still encouraged to eliminate inefficiencies that film screenings may create.