Timetabling and Room Booking Protocols

Transcription

1 Timetabling and Room Booking Protocols This paper seeks to try and provide a system that will (i) provide for timely and accurate timetabling, stability of the timetable (for both students and staff) and (ii) the prioritisation of the common good and institutional aims over individual interest. 1. Principles and Priorities for Room Use 1.1 Principles Courses do not own spaces. Space will be allocated according to priorities agreed by Teaching and Learning Committee (TLC). All courses will be timetabled according to the set and agreed calendar for creation of the timetable. All course timetable information distributed to staff and students will be that derived from the timetabling office and not any other source. The cleanliness and presentation of rooms is the responsibility of the Facilities Departments and the availability and functioning of AV equipment, ASD. All staff and students are responsible for checking their own timetables at regular periods via the online timetable viewers and or centrally published pdfs Priorities Course timetabling 1. Examination and Assessment bookings take 1 st priority; consequently they will be set and booked early in the timetabling calendar 2. Larger Groups take priority over smaller groups since they have fewer rooming options 3. Timetabled events take priority over video linked research seminars in the New Lecture Theatre. Bookings in Video Linked meeting rooms must finish at on Tuesdays and Wednesdays to accommodate Research seminars 4. The Teaching Lab and dissection room at Camden will be timetabled early in the process as these are a hot spot for demand, other sessions in a course fitting around lab slots if necessary. 5. Wherever possible, a 15 minute gap will be left between sessions for students 6. Wherever possible, student lunch breaks will be staggered (by setting lunch times at particular slots for particular years of courses).

2 7. All events on a course and year must be timetabled in the correct way using the centralised timetabling system so it is visible to students and staff on the live viewer or centrally produced pdfs. 8. The core teaching hours are 8-6pm Monday to Friday except Wednesday where undergraduate teaching should finish at 1pm wherever possible. 9. Academic staff responsible for timetabling must release timetabled space if it is decided the space is not needed for teaching. 1.3 Room Bookings 1. External Review Groups (AVMA QAA etc) take priority over all other bookings including meetings of Council and Academic Board and their committees, and any course bookings. At least three months notice of any changes resulting from such an exercise would be courteous to those with other rooms booked and our students; although as much notice as possible should be given. However, the teaching timetable takes priority over other external bookings. 2. Research Seminars have priority on the 4 th floor seminar room at Camden and will be booked (inclusive of set up time). 3. Research Seminars take priority over committee meeting bookings for smaller video linked rooms providing they are booked at least two weeks in advance 4.CPD programmes will be booked into the most suitable accommodation wherever possible; providing any published teaching timetable is not affected. 6. At all times vc bookings will include 30 minutes booked set up time prior to the start of the session. 7. Wherever possible, change over time will be allowed where the room function changes (e.g. from seminar to meeting). 8. With the exception of tutorials, room bookings should not be used in place of centrally timetabled events for course bookings.

3 2.1 Communication 2. Formation of the Course Timetable All of the following duties will be completed by the deadlines presented in the timetable calendar. There will be a formal sign off at each stage by the designated year or module leader. 1. The College Registrar and Secretary will inform the Timetabling Office at the start of the process of any room changes/alterations expected during the year. 2. Course Leaders of MScs, Year Leaders of BScs, FdSc, Gateway Programme and the course leader and year leaders of the BVetMed are required to consider and approve the block diagrams and the associated dates for the coming year. The CPD Administrator will provide a forward programme of events. 3. Thereafter, module leaders of existing courses are responsible for confirming the detailed requirements of their modules to the timetabling office via the Programme Co-ordinators. For new courses, (i.e. first timetable of a given year) this role will be taken by the Course Director. This will include liaison with Heads of Departments and individual lecturing staff over the staffing required for the module and consultation with individual lecturers. Communication on this aspect of the detailed formation of the timetable will only be between module leaders, programme co-ordinators and the timetable office. The timetable will be formed according to the attached calendar, Draft 1 will seek to achieve the best fit timetable in the light of all courses needs. 4. Individual lecturers will be responsible for signing to agree to their listed lecturing commitments once the final draft timetable has been produced. 5. Student groupings will be prepared by Programme Co-ordinators. These should be prepared about 3 months in advance of the teaching commencing (except for first year, first term undergraduates). 6. All requests for change will be in writing from the year/module leader/programme co-ordinator to the timetabling office and will cite the reason for the change. (see Other Changes below). 2.2.Changes after the finalisation of the year s timetable The Current Year 1. Reconfirmation of Term 2 and Term 3 timetables will be needed to deal with any staffing or estate changes that have occurred since the issue of the full year timetable. 2. Only certain changes will be allowed at this stage, they are:

4 - adjustments arising from the resignation, appointment or longer term temporary absence of staff - the allocation or removal of rooms due to major works or health and safety as approved by the Estates Planning Committee. - Addition or removal of guest lecturers from sessions that are free or allocated to guest lecturers All changes must be within the published term dates. 3. A call for confirmation will be made at the start of the second half of the preceding term. The confirmed timetable will be issued to students before the end of term Other Changes All changes affecting movement within a module must be approved by the module leader. All changes affecting the reordering of modules must be approved by the appropriate course management or phase committee prior to the block diagram being signed off.

5 3. Monitoring and Management Cycle of Monitoring and Reporting to TLC Spring Termly error and changes report for the autumn term Progress on the timetable for the coming year Summer Termly error and changes report for the spring term Issues arising from the timetabling exercise for the coming year. Autumn Termly error and changes report for the summer term Report on adherence to the current timetabling rules and recommendations for change 4. Routine Aspects Communications and Liaison with other Facility Providers. A weekly list of bookings will be sent to providers of AV, cleaning, library and portering facilities so that rooms can be made ready in advance of their use. Base, fixed in position, av facilities will be assumed to be functional without the need for additional booking. Any additional facilities should be booked at the same time as the room is booked.