Block Scheduling Exceptions
As a follow-up to the message sent on May 7, 2020 announcing the block scheduling format for Fall 2020 and Spring 2021, I would like to provide you with some updates on the hard work that is occurring with our faculty and staff.
A faculty committee is working to develop a migration pattern for Fall 2020 courses, along with standard meeting times, to ensure the instructional time requirement is met. Spring 2021 courses will be created in block format at the time they are created this fall (prior to classroom scheduling for Spring).
A schedule type is assigned to all courses taught at ECU and is created/updated through the curriculum process. A list of course schedule types that have been pre-approved to be automatically excluded from the new block scheduling pattern follows this message.
As we know that this will not resolve all courses that may need to be taught across the full semester, we have also developed a process to request an exception. Forms for each college are available on the University Registrar’s website. The forms should be initiated by the Department Chairperson (or their designee) and then sent on to the Dean of the College for review. If approved by the Dean, the request will move on to the Provost or Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences (determined by whether the college is in Academic Affairs or Health Sciences). Upon the final review, the request moves to the University Registrar’s office for removal of the course from the automated conversion process to the new fall schedule.
The timeline for requesting an exception is short, so please do not delay in your submission. The timeline is as follows:
- May 21: Deadline for forms to be submitted to Provost/Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences for consideration
- May 22: Deadline for Provost/ Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences to respond
- May 26 – 29: Departmental Adjustments
- Week of June 1 – 5: Student Schedule Updates made to Banner
- June 8: Freshmen Orientation opens
If you have questions about this process, or about the courses that will be automatically excluded, please contact Angela Anderson, Acting Vice Provost for Academic Success.
Schedule types automatically excluded include:
| Schedule Type Code | Schedule Type Description | Schedule Type Definition |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Studio | A course requiring visual- or aesthetic-focused experiential work where students test, observe, experiment or practice a field or discipline in a hands-on environment. |
| 6 | Student Teaching | A course requiring students to instruct or teach at an entity external to the institution, generally as part of the culminating curriculum of a teacher education or certification program |
| 7 | Practicum | A course requiring students to participate in an approved project or proposal that practically applies previously studied theory of the field or discipline under the supervision of an expert or qualified representative of the field or discipline. |
| 8 | Clinical | A course requiring medical- or healthcare-focused experiential work where students test, observe, experiment, or practice a field or discipline in a hands-on or simulated environment. |
| 9 | Internship, Field Experience or Cooperative Education | A course requiring students to participate in a partnership, professional employment, work experience, or cooperative education with an entity external to the institution, generally under the supervision of an employee of the given external entity. |
| 14 | Recital, Performance, Ensemble | A course requiring recital-, performance-, or ensemble-focused experiential work, including individual lessons, where students practice or rehearse and ultimately perform works of music, dance or theatre for a jury or audience |
| 16 | Individual Study | A course requiring students to participate in individualized, independent, directed, or guided studies under the supervision of an expert or qualified representative of the field or discipline that cannot be otherwise classified as Internship, Field Experience, Cooperative Education, Practicum, Recital, Performance, or Ensemble. |
-Grant Hayes, Ph.D., Acting Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs