Building and Maintaining the Schedule of Classes
Each department is responsible for creating and updating their list of available course offerings each term. Departmental Curricular Representatives collect and enter information into SIS about classes’ instruction mode, credits, day/time meeting pattern, classroom, instructor(s), enrollment capacity, and more. Each build cycle consists of two main phases – Initial Call and Final Call – before the Schedule of Classes is released. After each phase, Curricular Services flips the Term Update Switch in SIS which temporarily locks Curricular Representatives out of making key updates to the schedule of classes while Curricular Services audits data for accuracy and coordinates assigning General Assignment classrooms.
At all points during the curricular build, we encourage Curricular Reps to refer to our policy and guideline information. If you need additional help, please contact your Curricular Services representative.
Resources
- Curricular Build & Planning Box Folder
- Curricular Planning Schedule January - August
- Curricular Planning Schedule August - January
- SIS Support Materials - KB
- 25Live Pro: Creating Events, Requesting Rooms
- DIR- Review Course Listings & Enter Missing Instructors
- General Assignment (GA) Classroom Procedures Post-Publication
Build Phases & Descriptions
The content below describes each phase of building and maintaining the Schedule of Classes, including links to KB documents with instructions and guidelines for each phase.
During Initial Call, Curricular Representatives indicate which courses their department will be teaching for a given semester. In preparation for Initial Call, Curricular Services performs a process known as term roll. Term roll copies forward all active (not canceled) classes and vital class information from the previous like-term, e.g., from the most recent fall semester to the upcoming fall semester. This provides Curricular Representatives a starting point to work from when building the Schedule of Classes for their subject(s). Term roll does not copy forward instructors (except for Independent Study courses), class notes, or requested room characteristics, so it is essential to verify all information on active courses each term.
During Initial Call, Reps update details for classes that will be taught, delete rolled sections that won’t be taught, and schedule new courses that weren’t taught in the last like-term. At the close of Initial Call, Curricular Services will temporarily limit Curricular Reps’ update access in SIS. Curricular Services staff will review all of the data for accuracy and consistency, and the first round of General Assignment classroom assigning occurs.
Fall Initial Call Reports & Planning Documents
Spring Initial Call Reports & Planning Documents
Initial Call Instructions and Guidelines
As the name suggests, Final Call allows departments a final opportunity before publication to review their courses that will be taught and all of the classes’ details. Class information can be updated and new class sections can be scheduled. Reps should also review their room assignments if they requested a General Assignment classroom and request new rooms if necessary. Final Call is a shorter time period than Initial Call (only about a week long) because most of the work to build the Schedule of Classes should have been completed during Initial Call. Following Final Call, Curricular Services will again temporarily limit Curricular Reps’ update access in SIS while Curricular Services reviews course listings in SIS, conducts final audits, and adjusts room assignments before the Schedule of Classes is released.
Fall Final Call Reports & Planning Documents
Spring Final Call Reports & Planning Documents
Final Call Instructions and Guidelines
Once a schedule of classes is published and available for campus to view via Course Search and Enroll, departments may continue to edit their course listings. Edits may include scheduling a new course, adding a new section of a course, canceling a section of a course, updating enrollment capacities, updating section-level requisites for enrollment control, and requesting a new classroom. Once the Schedule of Classes has been published/released, sections that are no longer offered need to be cancelled, not deleted.
Post-Publication Adjustments and Maintenance
Review GA Classroom Assignment Procedures
The Departmental Instructional Report (DIR) contains every scheduled course section for every department. This report should be reviewed for accuracy and any missing instructor information should be added as soon as possible. Instructors can be added to class sections at any point during the schedule build – Initial Call, Final Call, or after the schedule is published. Accurate recording of instructors in SIS is important for a host of reasons: instructor access to grading, official reporting requirements, and more. Each meeting pattern on a course needs a Principal Instructor listed. Most details can be found below, and in the KB in the resources box.
DIR Reports
Departmental Instructional Report (DIR) Instructions
All courses need to be reviewed to meet requirements for grading. Most courses fall into two different categories of enrollment packages: non-9999 and 9999 enrollment packages. Additionally, all courses must have an instructor who can submit grades. The default access value for instructors is set to “Approve.” Any instructor who should not have access to submit grades should be set to “No Access.” Midterm grading reports only show classes with first year students enrolled. Final grading reports are for all courses.
FAQs
This is an accordion element with a series of buttons that open and close related content panels.
What are terms and sessions?
At UW-Madison, the academic calendar is made up of three terms: fall semester, spring semester, and summer term. Sessions are a subset of time within a term in which specific course offerings are taught. Sessions are defined by when they begin in the term, how many weeks they span, and how many weeks of instruction take place. Most instruction in fall and spring semesters happens in what is called the regular “A1” session. Many sessions will be created in preparation for Initial Call, and departments can request a new session during the schedule build as needed.
Why do sessions matter?
It is essential that classes be scheduled in the correct session that reflects when instruction is actually occurring, as this has many downstream impacts. These include add/drop deadlines and other key enrollment and student-record dates; tuition-refund calculations; classroom assignments and availability; enrollment reporting; effective emergency response; veteran-benefit determinations; and more.
Why do I see additional classes in the A2 session?
The A2 session is reserved for courses that are the UW equivalent of courses students take during Study Abroad programs. Mid-semester, Curricular Services will term roll the A2 courses from the previous like-term. Reps should ignore these sections- do not make edits to any courses in A2 sessions.
What are General Assignment classrooms?
General Assignment (GA) classrooms are rooms that have been designated by the campus Space and Remodeling Policies Committee as primarily for use in for-credit instruction, open to all academic departments, and centrally scheduled by the Office of the Registrar. Technology in many GA classrooms is supported centrally by Classroom Media Support of the Space Management Office in the Division of Facilities Planning & Management. The School of Business supports the media systems for GA classrooms in Grainger Hall, and the College of Engineering supports the media systems for GA classrooms on the Engineering campus.
What is the role of the University Curriculum Committee?
The University Curriculum Committee has the final decision on any course proposal changes, including course title changes, new course proposals, course deletions, and more. All course proposals are created and approved in the Lumen online course proposal system. Once the department has approved a proposal to change an existing course or create a new one, proposals should be sent to the School/College Curriculum Committee. If the course proposal is approved, it is then sent to the University Curriculum Committee.
What does it mean to be 'Primary' on a combined section?
When departments are part of a combined section course (cross-listed, meets-with, etc.), one department is designated as the ‘Primary’ department. It is the Primary department’s responsibility to communicate to all secondary members the course offering information, enrollment requirements, enrollment capacities, and more. The Primary will create the course section(s) initially, and the crosslist sync that Curricular Services runs will create the secondary sections. Secondary departments will then edit the details as needed.
How do I know if I'm the Primary on a combined section?
To find out who is Primary, click on the Combined Section link that can be found in SIS in Maintain Schedule of Classes (either on the Meetings page or Enrollment Control page), or on Update Sections of a Class in the Enrollment Limits page. After the Combined Sections ID is the name of the Primary Department.
How do I know which instructor role to use?
When departments and programs assign instructors to courses, they will also determine what role that instructor has in the course. It’s helpful to be familiar with the Policy on Minimum Qualifications for Instructional Staff to understand the specific definition of a “qualified” instructor. Keeping in mind that EACH section of every course must have a Principal instructor listed, you can refer to this KB to assist with determining the appropriate type of instructor: Qualified Instructors and Instructional Roles
Can I repeat section numbers in a single term if the course sections are in different sessions?
No. Each section of a course must have a unique section number. For instance, if you you are offering an IND course 699 sections 001, 002, and 003 in the regular A1 session, but the same instructor is teaching another IND section in the AHH session, they must use a different section number. Some departments rely on a numbering scheme such as 001 (A1 session), 101 (second session), 201 (third session, if necessary).
Curricular & Enrollment Pro Tips
Loop in Curricular Services on Room Swaps
Final Call for 1262 begins tomorrow, and it’s the first opportunity to view room assignments in SIS. If you are not satisfied with the classroom that was initially assigned to a class section, it may …
Always Edit Class Association Number on New Sections
When adding a new section to an existing course, the class association number will always default to 1. You must edit this appropriately, as each enrollment package must have its own association number. This gets …
Spring Term Enrollment Prep and Reminders
Happy (almost) Spring term! As we welcome a new group of Badgers this week at SOAR, be sure to keep an eye on your enrollment capacities. If you have combined sections, communicate with any secondary …
Cancel vs. Delete
It’s our last Pro Tip for the Fall term, and we’ll be picking back up after the winter break. In keeping with the theme of final exams, here’s a pop quiz! During the build, you’ve …
Term Update Switch Reminders
The term update switch controls what edits can be made in SIS for a given term. As a reminder, these are the only edits that may be made when the switch is flipped off: Assign …
- More Tips