Every time the seasons change and I have to switch my closet over from one season to another, I notice that all my clothes seem to have shrunk. I’m not sure why—I wash with cold water and I don’t over dry them but, somehow, if they sit in my basement for more than a couple of months, they always shrink. It’s one of life’s mysteries.
The same mysterious ailment has taken over the Brighton Campus. I swear I had more classrooms and more computer labs last semester. Someone must have been storing the campus in my basement during the summer. I can’t think of any other explanation.
I have been madly scrambling to fit in all the fall courses. Please be sure to check your room assignments TODAY because as soon as I finish writing this I am going back into room change mode. All classes should now have a classroom assigned. If yours doesn’t, please email me immediately.
All room change requests will have been processed so if your room hasn’t been changed it means I am currently unable to find what you want. I will keep checking. During prime time (9:00-2:00) we have no wiggle room. This means that if you want to change your classroom you will need to exchange rooms with another professor. I’ll be glad to facilitate that if I can but keep in mind that I have no empty classrooms during that time period.
I have tried to get everyone who needs a computer lab into a computer lab. Thank you to all the people who graciously volunteered to use the computer lab just one day a week so another class could also use it. I’ve also run into a problem with smart classroom demand during prime time. If you need a smart classroom and aren’t in one now you may need to make arrangements to have a smart cart delivered. I will try to find someone who will trade with you but that takes time and is not always successful.
Also keep in mind that if you are teaching an out of phase class you have been wedged into a room with another out of phase class. It’s like a giant and extremely tight jigsaw puzzle. If I need to move your class I also need to move the classes that are attached to you AND move at least two classes in the new room to fit both your and your attached class in there. What if your attached class doesn’t want to move? Believe me, it can get really ugly at my desk. I even had to hire a diet coke taster to assure that I make it through the first week of classes unscathed.
Yesterday (cue violins) I spent over two hours working on one request for a smart classroom because I had to move 3 other classes to make it work. I had to contact those 3 professors so I wasn’t moving someone against their will (I try not to do that but sometimes I have no choice). Then I had to make four room change signs (I have someone else hang them for me!) and send all the students involved (over 120!) in all four classes new schedules.
Please be assured that when I can’t honor your request to move that I am not being cavalier about your needs. I really do do as much as I possibly can to get everyone into a good fitting classroom. But at the end of the day, my fall clothes are still too tight and the Brighton Campus still doesn’t have enough rooms to make everyone happy.
I appreciate all the chairs, department secretaries and professors who have worked with me during the summer to resolve room issues. I also appreciate the flexibility of the professors who have moved or offered viable solutions to their room problems. It really is a team effort to get this all going. I’m looking forward to working with you next week when chaos really begins!
If my diet coke taster doesn’t make it through Tuesday I’ll be looking for new volunteers…
Deborah Benjamin
Registration and Records
08/31/2007 |