Introduction to Course Offerings Planner
Course section offerings contain specific course, subject, and section information per session offered. The information is displayed to students via MyUI and to administrative staff in MAUI.
Within the MAUI Offerings Planner, departments have the ability to review their course section offerings and make adjustments as needed each semester. An individual course section is made up of many different components, including delivery mode, management type, time, location, contact hours, etc. These are discussed in more detail below. Please review each component carefully before submitting a course to workflow. Once sections have been submitted to the Office of the Registrar, we will review them and make the appropriate room assignments.
Course sections replicate from like semester (fall to fall, spring to spring, summer to summer), with the exception of the winter session. The following items never replicate: university classrooms and buildings, textbooks, instructors for non-independent study sections, room preferences, and midterm exam section information.
Course Section Planner Help Guides
If you need assistance with the MAUI section planner, please visit the Course Section Help Guides page or Planner Help in MAUI, located on the left-hand side of the offerings planner screen in the shaded area. They provide detailed information and instructions about using the MAUI Offerings Planner.
There is a link for Planner Support in MAUI for you to email any questions you may have, or you may contact Registrar MAUI Support with questions.
Course Section Components
Contact Hour Requirements
Classes that meet in a face-to-face format must include one hour of contact time (50 minutes) and two hours of outside-of-class work.
Computing Contact Hours and more information can be found on the Contact Hours and Meeting Patterns page.
Coexisting Sections
If you are coexisting any of your course sections, be sure to create a coexisting section in MAUI so that Classroom Scheduling is aware that one classroom will be used for coexisting sections. Let us know if you have any questions about how to create a coexisting section. Coexisting sections are not cross-referenced sections (see definition below). Instructions for setting up co-existing sections are located on the MAUI Help website.
Cross-Referenced Courses/Administrative Home
A cross-referenced course is offered in conjunction with at least one other academic department for credit under more than one department and course number option. Only the administrative home of a course can enter the course offering and course information in MAUI. All of the information contained in cross-referenced courses will be same (semester hours, meeting times and days, instructors, descriptions, and so on).
Additional cross-reference course information is available on the MAUI Help website.
Delivery Modes
Indicate if the section is in-person, online, hybrid, or another type of instruction format; see Delivery Modes on the MAUI Help website.
Delivery Tools
Departments can select specific delivery tools for sections to identify how instruction is delivered; e.g., AEA Polycom Network, Adobe Connect, Collaborate, ICON, Podcast, and Zoom.
DEO and Campus Address on MyUI
Check MyUI for your current college/departmental information. If you have changes, please contact Registrar Academic Structure.
Instructors
- Instructor Roles Defined
- How to Assign Instructors
- Instructor Assignment for independent study (IND) courses
- Provost's Instructors of Record policy
Instructors for Summer and Winter Sessions
All departments are required to list instructors for each summer and winter section before sections are submitted in workflow. Enter the instructor’s name or to be determined (if the instructor is not known at this time) in the instructor field.
Instructor's Salary
Departments budgeted by the summer/winter session office must include the instructor’s summer/winter salary. Note that salary can only be entered for Academic Unit Course or Academic Unit Workshop management types. There is a field for salary comments if you need to provide any explanation. Once you have entered either the instructor’s name or to be determined, the Summer/Winter 20XX Salary field will display so you can enter the summer/winter salary or an estimate of the salary, along with any comments for the summer/winter session office. If you need to update or add an instructor’s salary once it is known, you can access the course section in the MAUI Offerings Planner. Review the section's Edit Section Information page, click on the Instructors field, and then select Edit to view the page where salaries can be entered or updated.
Note: Departments that are not requesting funding by the summer/winter session office do not need to provide salary information.
Location (Room/Building)
If a university classroom is needed, indicate this by clicking on the Yes button. Classroom Scheduling considers these requests. If you do not need a university classroom, indicate this by clicking the No button. A departmentally-controlled classroom can be entered directly in MAUI.
For courses housed in departmental spaces, it is your responsibility to secure permission to use the space from the controlling department. Please do not assume space availability, as double bookings may occur. If the course meeting place is arranged, click on the Location is Arranged box.
All university classrooms and buildings are reviewed for new assignments in order to provide the best classroom schedule for the campus every session. Preferences for specific university classrooms may be indicated, although Classroom Scheduling will make any changes necessary to accommodate the entire curriculum.
For courses that require a TILE classroom or larger room (90+ seats), 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 or TILE rooms. Please contact Char Maher (319-335-0221) as soon as possible to make these arrangements. Priority in these rooms is retained by courses that are unchanged from the previous like semester (fall to fall, spring to spring) and by departments that make advance arrangements. Review additional University Classroom course scheduling policies.
The Classroom Scheduling area schedules a variety of classrooms throughout campus, including lecture halls, discussion rooms, seminar rooms, and TILE rooms. A full listing of the various University Classrooms is available. Throughout the semester, these rooms can also be used for other events when classes and exams are not in session. Please use Astra Scheduler Viewer to determine availability. The Quick Start Instructions for Astra Schedule Guest Viewer is available if assistance is needed using Astra.
Management Types
The management type field is where you select the type of course you are offering. An on-campus course is listed as an Academic Unit Course. These sections are designated as Section 0001, 0002, 0003, 0004. Distance and Online Education (DOE) courses are also listed here. You can identify a DOE section by the management type; these are generally 0EXV and 0EXW section numbers. MBA courses have their own management types. The information listed in the management type drop-down box clues you in to the section number you should use.
A full list of management types is available on the MAUI Help website.
Workshop Definition
In contrast with university classes, workshops are targeted to the needs of practicing professionals, such as teachers, social workers, musicians, and others. Course content is focused on providing practical skills that can be immediately used in a professional setting. The majority of enrolled students are non-degree seeking, although some degree-seeking students may enroll.
Workshop Restrictions
- The duration of a workshop must meet or fall between the dates of the UI start and end dates of the given academic calendar.
- No more than 1 s.h. of credit may be earned by the student for each week the workshop is held; no more than 3 s.h. of credit may be earned for a workshop offering regardless of length.
- Workshop offerings must use different course numbers than course offerings, except for special topics or special studies listings with subtitles.
Note: Tuition for workshop courses is assessed separately and billed in addition to tuition and fees for other courses. See Common and University/Program Specific Fees on the Office of the Registrar website.
In-person or hybrid workshop sections are created with an Academic Unit Workshop management type and will use section numbers 0001, 0002, 0100, etc.
Workshop sections created with a Distance and Online Workshop management type will use section number 0WK*.
Management Type Definitions
- Academic Unit Course: This course is managed by the controlling or administrative home department.
- Academic Unit Workshop (WK*): On-campus workshop, uses a section identifier of WK*.
- BUS ANLYT CER MSTRS (EX*): Business Analytics Certificate and Master's Degree; uses a section identifier of EX*.
- CUIS-Italy Undergrad (EX*): Consortium of Universities for International Studies (CIMBA) - Undergraduates; uses a section indicator of EX6, EX7, and EX8.
- DOE Distance Course (EX*): Distance and Online Education course; uses a section indicator of EX*.
- DOE ICHE Crs (EX*): Distance and Online Education Learning Center course; uses a section indicator of EX*.
- DOE Public Health (EX*): Distance and Online Education Public Health; uses a section indicator of EX*.
- DOE Special Program (EX*): Distance and Online Education Special Program; uses a section indicator of EX*.
- DOE Wkshp (WK*): Distance and Online Education Workshop; uses a section indicator of WK*.
- MBA CIMBA (EX*): Master of Business Administration Consortium of Universities for International Studies; uses a section indicator of EX8 and EX9.
- MBA Executive (EX*): Master of Business Administration Executive Program; uses a section indicator of EXM.
- MBA Exec Dual Deg (EX*): Master of Business Administration Executive Program Dual Degree; uses a section indicator of EXS.
- MBA Executive On Campus: Master of Business Administration Executive Program on Campus.
- MBA Hong Kong (EX*): Master of Business Administration International Executive Program in Hong Kong; uses a section indicator of EXH.
- On Campus Wkshp (WK*): Distance and Online Education On Campus Workshop: uses a section indicator of WK*.
- Prof MBA Progr (EX*): Master of Business Administration for Professionals & Managers; uses a section indicator of EXA, EXC, EXD, EXE, EXK, EXP, EXQ, EXR, EXU, or EXW.
Preferences
If you need any special accommodations such as a blackboard, whiteboard, audiovisual equipment, back-to-back instructor accommodations, or if you need arrangements for instructors with special needs, indicate these in the building, media, or room preferences fields to assist Classroom Scheduling in meeting your requirements. You can access these fields on the course's Edit Section Information page (select Time & Location in the drop-down box in the upper-right-hand corner of the MAUI screen).
Proof Copy
A proof copy can be requested at any time, which will show your real-time changes. The Proof Copy link is located on the left-hand side of your Offerings Planner screen in the shaded area. Choose the subject/department and select the fields you want to display on your proof copy by using the arrow to select the fields you want to capture. Check the session date in the upper-right side of the screen and press the "Go" tab near the bottom of the page. A proof copy will be emailed to you.
The Course Sections (Comprehensive - Proof Copy) MAUI report is also available for use by departments to review all of their course section information.
Related Sections
Please review course set-up instructions on the Course Offerings Planner page for information on setting up related sections of a course. This page includes how to add a Stand-alone Section, Lecture/Discussion Mandatory Relationship Section, and Lecture/Discussion Preferred Relationship Section.
Mandatory Versus Preferred Relationship
Mandatory relationships are indicated when students are not given a choice at registration. For example, when registering for a course, students choose a discussion section and are automatically registered for the lecture that is related to that discussion section. Credit hours usually fall under the discussion/lab section(s) and not the lecture.
Preferred relationships are indicated when students have a choice of one or more lectures and a choice of one or more related sections when registering for a course. Preferred relationships are also indicated when the credit hours are posted to the lecture.
Restrictions
If you want students to be approved before they can enroll in the course, indicate this with a restriction option in MAUI.
Session
Summer Session
Select a summer sub-session in the drop-down box unless the section is off-cycle. Summer independent study courses must be listed in the eight-week or twelve-week summer sub-session, although the instructor and each student can work out independent study offering dates. No classes are offered on Friday, but the last Friday of each sub-session is reserved for final examinations.
Note: If you change an existing section to a different summer sub-session in the session field, you must change the dates listed in the time/location field to match the specific dates of the newly selected summer sub-session. For example, if you change an existing four-week section to an eight-week section in the sub-session field, you also must change the dates in the time/location field to the eight-week sub-session dates.
Off-Cycle Dates
Off-cycle dates must be within the first and last day of a session. For more information, see Off-Cycle Sections on the MAUI Help website.
Submit Course Sections to Workflow
Submit your course sections to workflow by clicking on the Submit to Workflow tab to complete this step. If you miss this final step, the registrar's office will not be aware that you intend to offer those sections, no room assignments will be made, and the sections will not appear on MyUI.
Delete sections from MAUI Offerings Planner that you do not plan to offer. This does not delete your courses from the MAUI Course Library or the General Catalog; it only indicates you will not offer those sections for a specific semester or session.
Textbooks and Resources
The Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) requires that book titles, ISBN numbers, and prices of required and recommended books and other materials for any course are included on the institution's electronic schedule of courses in time for student registration.
The Office of the Provost encourages instructors to place their textbook order by Early Registration with either ICON Direct, the Iowa Hawk Shop and University Bookstore, or the ISBA Law Bookstore as a result of an electronic data upload process. When the departmental representative places an order with the chosen location, a data feed of required textbook details including the ISBN will be returned by direct feed into MAUI Offerings Planner. Once the data feed has been returned to MAUI, a departmental representative will be able to choose if the textbook is required, recommended, or optional.
All textbook and resource orders should be finalized in MAUI by Early Registration, but no later than four weeks prior to the start of the semester in which the textbook is to be used by students. If textbook or resource orders cannot be placed by this time, departmental representatives now have the option to indicate their extenuating circumstances in MAUI. These options include: instructor not assigned, course under development, or materials not available. Textbook information is only required for lecture and standalone sections. Textbook information is not required for related sections such as lab, discussion, lab/discussion, and independent study.
Visit the Textbook and Resources Help web page for updated information and instructions.
Time/Day
When requesting a University Classroom (UCR) for the fall or spring semester, please use the Classroom Scheduling Standardized Time-Block Model. When requesting a UCR for summer sessions, use the Summer Time-Block Model for available meeting times. Make sure you include any required time that students meet outside of the regularly scheduled class time. If the days and times are arranged, click on the Time/Day is Arranged box.
Summer Session
In order to maximize the use of university classroom air-conditioned spaces in the summer while maintaining energy efficiency, the following scheduling regulations apply for summer session: (1) five contact-hour per week courses should be scheduled on a daily basis, and (2) equal use is given to the hours beginning at 8:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 1:30 p.m. If an equal balance cannot be achieved, avoid adding extra courses at those hours. Adherence to this scheduling policy allows the University of Iowa to be financially prudent during the summer months. Classes must start on the half hour.
Time/Day Set-up Instructions
Instructions for the variety of ways to enter Time/Day information for a course are available on the MAUI Help website.
Waitlist Plan
Waitlist plans replicate from like semesters (fall to fall, spring to spring). The actual waitlist itself does not replicate. Please review your offerings to be sure the correct waitlist plan is indicated in MAUI.
- To remove the MAUI waitlist plan, go to the section summary page in the Offerings Planner. Click on Waitlist Plan, change the drop-down box from MAUI Waitlist to No Waitlist, and click Save.
- To add a MAUI waitlist plan, go to the section summary page in the Offerings Planner. Click on Waitlist Plan, change from No Waitlist to MAUI Waitlist, and click Save.
Waitlist management details and instructions for departments are available on the MAUI Help website.