Campus - Booking Rooms For Midterm Examinations

Overview:

This procedure describes the method used to book rooms for midterm examinations, in order to provide the best results possible for all needs submitted from faculties to Scheduling.

This procedure will allow for a few exceptions for term long/one-off bookings for courses/special events that are not midterms to be ahead of the midterm queue. Some general examples are room renovations/maintenance, room repurposing that is cleared by the Director of Scheduling, the Associate Registrar and/or the Registrar.  Other exceptions include summer camps (ESQ and ACE), events from the President’s Office (Town Hall Meetings), and events to do with academic integrity.

Business Process

Approximately 3 months prior to a start of each term blast email departmental midterm representatives with a term-appropriate version of the following email: Email - Submitting midterm requests to be addded to the queue for future term bookings

Midterm reps will complete the online submission forms for Scheduling, who will reply to each email saying "Added to the queue". The original email gets moved into the "room bookings" folder for that term

The outgoing email of "added to the queue" gets added to the either TST slot or non-TST slot midterm folder.

Revision to existing requests:

Reply to each email saying "Added to the queue". Remove the original request from the queue of the "room bookings" and remove the original reply from the non-TST queue or TST queue.

The new email gets moved into the "room bookings" folder for that term

The outgoing new email of "added to the queue" gets added to the either TST queue or non-TST queue midterm folders (it is very important to maintain the queue properly).

Prior to filing a TST slot midterm template - verify against the schedule of classes that the TST slot exists and that the date/time matches the listing on the template. Exceptions are made for AFM regarding set-up and tear down time. 

Start bookings one month prior to start of term.

Using the procedure Campus - booking a new Reservation/editing an existing one – the Event and activity should be: Midterms/Quizzes/Testing-Related → Midterms/Quizzes/Tests

Book TST slot midterms first followed by non-TST slot midterms.

The general goal of a midterm booking (unless otherwise stated in the midterm request template submitted by the midterm rep) is to book the least number of rooms possible, on the same floor of the same building. If the same floor is not available, try for at least same building.  If that is not possible, try to book rooms in buildings relatively close to each other.  Tablet armchairs are avoided where possible, as are CPH 1346, PAS 1229, B2 350 and all REG rooms in OPTOM.

Confirm the room with the midterm reps, who are then responsible for passing the information onto instructors.  Have another Scheduling Specialist check your work before filing the email in the approprite folders in the inbox.

Scheduling will receive numerous edits to the first round of midterm bookings. Ensure that TST slot edits are handled first, followed by Non-TST slots. 

Once all midterms are booked and confirmed, the Scheduling staff can proceed with term-long extra event bookings and one-off bookings. These include extra tutorials booked outside the Schedule of Classes, guest lecturers, video showings etc.

After the room booking queues have been cleared, the Scheduling staff will book midterms and event bookings on a first-come, first-served basis.

If a department requests to change rooms for the duration of the term, but single dates are preventing the room from being added to the Schedule of Classes: Put the room on the Schedule of Classes (double-book over top of the single dates/midterms already occupying the room) and inform both the course requesting as well as any scheduling reps who are in charge of the midterms occupying the space so all involved are notified about the room switches.

There are exceptions to a few rooms on campus in simply halving the room cap in order to double-space a midterm. As requested by Science, in April of 2017: Scheduling staff will use the following chart when booking rooms in DC and STC: