In the Fall of 1997, the Academic Senate passed Resolution #97/98-03 requesting the formation of a task force to "devise a uniform model for undergraduate class scheduling that minimizes conflict of class times and efficiently utilizes classroom space over a five-day work schedule."

This resolution was prompted in part by faculty who felt that the clustering of classes on four days of the week, Monday - Thursday, with preference expressed for the hours between 10AM - 2PM creates significant class scheduling conflicts. This conflict reduces students' ability to take full advantage of the curriculum and also creates a significant classroom shortage problem.

Additionally, faculty have expressed a concern over the absence of Friday classes which results in the creation of a four-day academic week and a three-day weekend that begins on Thursday evening. This practice works against establishing a serious academic climate on the campus, while at the same time causing ineffective student activities programming for evenings and weekends.

Over the last several years, much hard work has gone into improving the intellectual climate of the university. We have increased the quality of incoming freshmen, established new GE requirements, evaluated and changed our articulation agreements with the community college system for transfer credits and thus increased the quality of transfers, and changed residency requirements for the number of units that must be completed at USC.

Many of these changes were the responses to the university's Strategic Plan was adopted by the Board of Trustees in 1994, and updated in 1998 in a Four-Year Review document. Both classroom utilization and class scheduling were addressed.

The joint committee has now completed its work and recommended a revised policy to be implemented for the 1999-2000 school year. The basic principles are that each school and department must distribute its course offerings over all five days, and over the full day from 8AM through 3PM. A grid of time modules has been set up so that course conflicts will be minimized and student opportunity to choose is maximized. This better method of uniform scheduling will help us meet USC's responsibilities to provide students with the widest opportunities for selecting among the many fine course offerings at USC.

The policy and all collateral materials can be viewed from this page by beginning with the Resolution link below.

On to Resolution »