The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) Centralized Class Scheduling Pros & Cons for Space Utilization Improvement Presented by: Conroy E. Kydd Associate Director, Office of Admissions, Records and Registration The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA)

UTA History / Current Ranking Established in 1895 and has had 8 name changes since then. Finally settled as the University of Texas at Arlington in 1967. Awarded R-1 designation in 2016 - Highest Research Activity designation.

UTA- Location / Landmarks Located in the downtown city of Arlington AT&T or Cowboys Stadium Rangers ballpark Population of Arlington ≈ 365,000 Located precisely midway between Dallas and Fort Worth

UTA Campus

Academic Offerings/Research Funding 180 degree programs 10 different schools and colleges Research centers in every discipline Total funding for research exceeded $85 million for the 2015-16 fiscal year

Academic Programs Distribution Degrees Offered (Fall 2016) 85 Bachelor’s 74 Master’s 26 Doctoral

Enrollment Summary Fall 2016 28,218 Undergraduate 10,153 Master’s and Certificate 1,343 Doctoral 39,714 Total on campus Total global enrollment exceeds 55,000

Diversity Distribution Fall 2016 10.2% Asian 12.3% International 15.1% African American 24.6% Hispanic 37.8 % Whites

Primary Responsibilities Manage the scheduling of classes (estimated 9,000 sections each semester excluding Summer). Manage the allocation of academic and events scheduling in designated classified and non-classified rooms.

Space Usage History Prior to my tenure, UT-Arlington used a decentralized process to schedule academic classes Utilization scores were low, compared to other schools within the UT-System. Fall’2011 with a history of lower utilization scores, we migrated to a combination of centralized and decentralized scheduling.

Steps Towards Improvements In 2010 UTA hired a consulting group to perform a Utilization Analysis and reported the following: Classrooms and Class labs were not being used efficiently. Campus had a surplus of classrooms.

Steps Towards Improvements 25 classrooms were taken offline and or reclassified to meeting rooms. Implemented the centralized classroom scheduling and kept the class lab assignments with the academic departments. Made technology a key standard in areas where it was most desired. Started the process of streamlining approval of request for pedagogical circumstances.

Steps Towards Improvements Created a workflow to accommodate these special needs with a listing of approved categories that were processed several months prior to general scheduling. Received buy-in from the provost office who took a mandated approach and made these changes become policy. The opportunity loss from not having excellent utilization score was relayed to deans, chairs and other academic leaders.

Current Academic Space Distribution General classroom buildings = 18 Classified classrooms = 169 Classified class labs = 78 Classified special class labs= 85

Examples of Special Requests Department Term /Session Subject Catalog # Section # Room Request Option Additional Info College of Liberal Arts – Department of Art & Art History Spring 2017 ART 2304 001 Specifically Designed Classrooms FA 411 College of Liberal Arts – Department of Communications Fall 2016 COMM 3303 All Software Need MAC labs – Suggest FA404

Examples of Special Requests Department Term /Session Subject Catalog # Section # Room Request Option Additional Info College of Engineering - Department of Electrical Engineering Spring 2017 EE 2320 001 Medical Please schedule in NH due to instructor mobility issues College of Science - Department of Physics ASTR 1345 Non Transferable artifacts in room Instructor stores needed supplies in closet

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Scoring Chart

Fall 2015 Space Usage Efficiency Summary

UT- System Schools (Space Usage Efficiency Score) Historical Comparison

CONS Departments started making up reasons to justify asking for specific rooms that benefits them personally. Section caps for classes were being manipulated to target certain rooms. Department’s Administrative Assistants were under extreme pressure to find the rooms instructors wanted. Complaints from Instructors grew as they were being forced to walk to other buildings to teach.

CONS Even with centralized classroom scheduling in place we face additional issues during Fall and Spring: Too many primetime classes being scheduled and finalizing the schedule is literally an ‘hair pulling’ experience. Too many instructors teaching multiple back to back sections, which forces us to try and keep their classrooms close to each other - this has not been working very well.

PROS We have shown a steady growth in our utilization scores over the years. Capital improvement projects are being approved by the state. Graduations rates have improved since more classes are available to the students. With our targeted approach to reducing primetime classes, non–classroom spaces are slowly being restored to support auxiliary services.

PROS Scheduling of rooms becomes less complicated when rules are set in place to benefit student outcomes and not centered around what the instructors want. The event scheduling process for academic departments and student organizations is now more efficient and can be better accommodated in a timely manner. Adding swipe access keys to all classrooms has saved academic departments $$ since physical keys no longer has to cut each semester.

The Outcome…Improved Graduation Rates

Graduation # by Years

New SEIR Building Scheduled to Open in Fall 2018

Thank you… Any Questions?