Professors: There’s an ‘inherent problem’ with class scheduling

Scheduling problems plague many of IU’s schools and academic departments, and professors are weighing in on what they think should be done.\n“That demand on classrooms has just increased exponentially in the past decade,” said Greg Peters, senior instructor and mathematics scheduler.\nGeology professor and Bloomington Faculty Council president Lisa Pratt said because of concerns regarding the poor condition of classrooms, along with scheduling difficulties, the University is thinking about ways to free up classrooms for maintenance and remodeling. \nOne of those ways is to spread out the times of classes, which could mean more 8 a.m. and Friday classes. The council is also thinking about reducing the number of 75-minute classes on Mondays and Wednesdays to reduce inefficient overlapping of classes.\nPeters said that while IU is increasing the number of classes offered and the number of students goes up, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find classrooms during “prime time,” 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.\n“That lack of flexibility is a dilemma,” he said. \nPeters said that while he thinks the campus is in good shape, down the road there might be a need to close, for example, a floor of a building for a semester or longer for remodeling, routine maintenance or technology upgrades. Right now, he said, maintenance has to be done a few rooms at a time, which is inefficient.\nPeters said before college, most students took 8 a.m. classes in high school.\n“If you take one or two 8 a.m. classes in your career, it’s nothing,” he said.\nJim Davis, math department chair and professor, agreed that there is a problem with scheduling.\n“I think that there is an inherent problem at Indiana University with respect to classroom scheduling which should be addressed,” he said.\nHe said the issue about Friday classes was more of a concern to him than the issue over 8 a.m. classes. Davis, who is strongly in favor of having more Friday classes, said he doesn’t believe that on Fridays students should learn less effectively.\n“Students come here for an education and there’s no reason why education should be more difficult on a Friday than any other work day,” he said.\nDavis said while some other schools and departments don’t have classes on Friday, instead conducting meetings, traveling for academic purposes and other activities, students don’t always go when other departments have classes on Fridays. \n“And that’s really bad for the educational enterprise,” Davis said.\nHe said he doesn’t understand why some departments don’t have classes on Fridays, but he said it’s more for the convenience of the individual departments than the students.\nDavis said he was in favor of 8 a.m. classes if they’re necessary and he said he is more sympathetic about it. He said that it was sometimes necessary to have 8 a.m. classes and the professors who teach them often enjoy it because more serious students take those classes.\nDewitt Kilgore, assistant professor of English and American studies, said he’s not completely opposed to 8 a.m. classes, though he said they are undesirable. He said that some students might have trouble getting services, such as breakfast, and trouble getting to school.\nKilgore also said that he enjoys having 75-minute classes because it gives his class a greater opportunity to hold discussions. While the English department doesn’t have 75-minute classes on Monday, Wednesday or Friday, he teaches them on Tuesdays and Thursdays and said he likes them and is in favor of \nkeeping them.\n“We’re not going to get a one size fits all solution,” \nhe said. \nPeters said it would be nice to build a new classroom building, but the University doesn’t have the money.\nDavis said that he’s seen that many academic buildings are in need of remodeling. However, he said, it’s often easier to get money for new buildings and laboratories than to get money to maintain the old ones.\n“It’s just easier to get money for something new than to remodel and take care of the old things,” he said. “It just sounds better to \nthe legislature.”