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MCC Daily Tribune Archive

Room Scheduling Accusations and Excuses #4


Up to this point the slant of the Accusations and Excuses articles has been about me, letting you know why things work the way they do so my butt is covered. While I see no reason to move the focus of the articles off of me, good manners dictate that at least one article should be about you and your needs. Blah. Blah. Blah. I’m already falling asleep.

I had one incredibly savvy professor ask me, “If you were teaching a class, what would you do to assure you were assigned a good classroom?” After we joked around for a much longer period than was really necessary regarding what I could possibly be qualified to teach, we came up with the following list:

As soon as I knew what I was teaching I would let R&R know my room needs—smart, computer lab, non-lecture hall, etc. (It is never too early. I already have about a dozen requests for spring.) Many room assignments roll from the previous like term (spring to spring) and it may be that the person who taught your section last year wanted a computer lab and thus the class rolled into one. No one is ever arbitrarily assigned to a computer lab and we try not to move a class out if it rolled in so it doesn’t lose its computer space.

If I had special needs—mobility issues, allergy issues, special equipment needs-- I would let R&R know immediately regardless of whether I knew my class assignments yet or not.

I would check my 1F5 screen on a regular basis to keep tabs on where my classes were assigned so I could let R&R know if something got moved to an unsatisfactory room. I would be constantly vigilant and pro-active. You can’t trust that room scheduler in R&R. This is extra important if you have special needs that can only be accommodated by certain classrooms or certain locations.

I would (reluctantly) accept the fact that having back to back classes is NOT an impairment that requires teaching in the same classroom all morning…unless I am on crutches.

I would not teach an off phase class. Ever. Classes taught within phases are like Scrabble letters and are easily interchanged and moved among each other. Classes taught out of phase are like jigsaw puzzle pieces and are not easy to move around and fit in a new location. It is almost impossible to move an off phase class unless ALL the classes taught that day are moved also. This rarely goes over very well with anyone, especially the R&R room scheduler.

If I were teaching a late start class I would make sure it started AFTER the COS classes end.  Starting after the COS classes are over opens up a wider choice of classrooms.

I would maintain good relations with my colleagues so that if I needed to make a room switch with someone they wouldn’t laugh in my face. (Hopefully people would like me better in my academic department than they do in the R&R Office because I get a lot of face laughing here.) Classroom switches among colleagues are always a good solution to a room problem. The closer we are to the start of classes, the more often this becomes the only solution.

If I were reassigned to another section at the last minute, I would realize I probably have to accept the room the original professor had requested. If they wanted a lecture hall and I hate a lecture hall there is a good chance I’ll have to teach in the lecture hall unless… (see paragraph above).

If I am teaching a course with a relatively low max enrollment, I would accept the fact that I won’t be able to teach in a large capacity classroom. Likewise, I probably won’t be able to make a room switch with someone with a larger max enrollment because they won’t be able to fit in my room.

I would never green slip in more people than I have seats in my current room. I would assume I will not be able to get a larger room and teaching to a SRO crowd isn’t as exciting as performing before one.

If I wanted a room change after classes had already started, I would have zero expectations.

I would send the R&R room scheduler’s supervisor numerous notes letting her know what a real jewel the room scheduler is. If I don’t feel that the room scheduler does a good job, I would keep it to myself; no need to bother her supervisor who is really busy with more important things.

Deborah Benjamin
Registration and Records
09/08/2005