Classroom Utilization Capacity Management Study: Findings and Next Steps Doug Swink Registrar Tuesday, December 7, 2010

OVERVIEW

Overview  Background – Ad Astra  Scheduling Terminology  Guiding Principles & Methodology  Findings  Enrollment Growth  Recommendations  Common Course Schedule Task Force

BACKGROUND

Background—Ad Astra  Ad Astra provides business solutions for higher education scheduling needs [  2006: UMKC engaged Ad Astra Information Systems to evaluate campus capacity and space utilization; they analyzed Fall 2005 scheduling data and provided a report  2009: UMKC partnered with Ad Astra to conduct a Strategic Scheduling Check-Up Study  UMKC’s uses Ad Astra’s scheduling software

Scheduling Terminology TermDefinition Room Hours/Week Actual hours a room is used in an average week during the analyzed term. Room Hour Utilization Percentage of room hours used (Total Room Hours / (Scheduling week (70, 20, 12 hours) x Number of rooms with specified room type)). Prime RatioPercentage of hours scheduled during primetime hours (Prime room hours / Total Room Hours). Bottleneck80 percent utilization or higher of a particular room type Scheduled Hours Total hours actually scheduled in a room. Includes only those hours for classes meeting within specified time periods. Hours are broken down into 30 minute increments. Example: 30 minutes counted in primetime hour utilization for class meeting 1:30-2:30 p.m. (since primetime ends at 2:00 p.m.). Average Enrollment / Maximum Enrollment Weighted average of class actual enrollment or maximum enrollment caps. Enrollment is weighted to eliminate issue with classes meeting for different durations. Example: one three hour class is weighted higher than a class that meets for just one hour. Station FillPercentage of seats in use when room is scheduled (Actual or Max Enrollment / Capacity). Contact Hours Average student contact hours in a room for a week (Actual or Max Enrollment or x Room Hours). Contact Hour Utilization Comparison between the number of actual contact hours and the total possible amount of contact hours if the room was full all week long (Capacity x Total Possible Hours = X. Contact Hours / X). Example: if actual contact hours are 250, and total possible contact hours are 1000, the Contact Hour Utilization will be 25 percent.

Guiding Principles Maximize current resources to increase student success by:  Preparing to increase undergraduate enrollment  Implementing centralized classroom scheduling  Expanding class offerings across more days and times  Increasing the availability of required class offerings  Increasing the number of technology-enhanced classrooms (ILE); as part of an ILE upgrades project and the 2006 Ad Astra study, the number of ILE classrooms increased from 79 to 126

UTLIZATION METHODOLOGY Room Utilization

Room Hour Utilization Standards Utilization CategoryUtilization Low< 20.00% Moderately Low % Moderate % Moderately High % High % Very High>80.00% A standard scheduling week for post-secondary campuses varies from hours per week; the standard scheduling week for UMKC is 70 hours or (8am-10pm, Monday-Friday) Ad Astra recommends 80% as the as the optimal room utilization goal for campuses.

AD ASTRA FINDINGS Room Utilization

Finding 1: Utilization Based on a 70-hour Standard Week is Moderately Low Room Type# of Rooms Room Hours/Week Room Hour Utilization Classroom % ILE Classroom79*2, % Other room types 891, % Total2144, % * As part of an ILE upgrades project and the 2006 Ad Astra Study, the number of ILE classrooms increased from 79 to 126; classrooms previously without integrated audio visual systems were upgraded to ILE Hybrid classrooms in The upgrades are not reflected in these data. A 70 Hour Scheduling Week is defined by classes that meet between 8:00 AM – 10:00 PM (the data is based on all classrooms (centrally scheduled and department owned)

Finding 2: Utilization During the 20-hour Morning Prime Scheduling Week is Moderate Room Type# of Rooms Room Hours/Week Room Hour UtilizationPrime Ratio Classroom %36.94% ILE Classroom791, %39.18% Other room types %36.87% Total2141, %38.19% A 20 Hour Scheduling Week is defined by classes that meet between 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM (the data is based on all classrooms (centrally scheduled and department owned)

Finding 3: Utilization During the 12-hour Evening Prime Scheduling Week is Moderate Room Type# of Rooms Room Hours/Week Room Hour UtilizationPrime Ratio Classroom %21.80% ILE Classroom %21.31% Other room types %20.94% Total2141, %21.29% A 12 Hour Evening Prime Time Week is defined by classes that meet between 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM the data is based on all classrooms (centrally scheduled and department owned)

Finding 4: Utilization Varies by Control Group Utilization of classrooms and ILE classrooms during the prime scheduling week varies by control group Control Group Regular classrooms 20-hour morning ILE classrooms 20-hour morning Regular classrooms 12-hour evening ILE classrooms 12-hour evening Centrally Scheduled Rooms 81.43%74.06%65.74%72.96% Departmental Priority Rooms 30.00% Low Utilization 72.86%67.86%75.06%

Scheduling Challenges  Bottlenecks exist in every size category of ILE classrooms.  High demand for particular class times and specific room types increase bottlenecks. See example of bottlenecks day/times below: MW 9 – 2 TR 9:30 – 11 Evening Classes at 5:30  ILE classrooms with more than 150 seats are bottlenecked through most of the morning, early afternoon and early evening all week long.

Non-Standard Meeting Patterns Implications  While UMKC has a policy that defines standard meeting times, there are occurrences of non-standard meeting times throughout the schedule

Finding: Non-Standard Meeting Patterns Fall 2009 Example for Monday, September 14, 2009: The standard meeting times need to be more consistently enforced on Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays to ensure the most efficient use of space.

Finding: Non-Standard Meeting Patterns Fall 2009 Example for Friday, September 18, 2009: Space is not utilized on Fridays. (Note: Lime Green represents special, one-time events, while the blue, orange and red represent classes.)

Fall 2010 Example for Monday, September 13, 2010: The standard meeting times need to be more consistently enforced on Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays to ensure the most efficient use of space.

Fall 2010 Example for Friday, September 17, 2010: Space is not utilized on Fridays. (Note: Lime Green represents special, one-time events, while the blue, orange and red represent classes.)

Finding: Non-Standard Meeting Patterns Occurrence of one hour meeting patterns create scheduling challenges, thus restricting room availability

PLANNING FOR ENROLLMENT GROWTH

Spreading class offerings across the entire 70 hour scheduling week will provide up to 40% more capacity ENROLLMENT GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES

RECOMMENDATIONS

Ad Astra Recommendations  Spread class offerings across the entire standard scheduling week  Equitable use of ILE classrooms by departments during prime scheduling times  Schedule classes in appropriately sized rooms  Adherence to existing policy that requires classes to use standardized meeting blocks  Scrutinize the inventory of space to ensure all rooms are being used at their highest potential

COMMON COURSE SCHEDULE Task Force

New Task Force A task force of faculty and staff representing all academic units; primary charge is to review the Classroom Scheduling Policy adopted in The committee will review current classroom utilization and make a formal recommendation to the Provost on changes needed to classroom scheduling policies and standard meeting times by the end of Fall The committee should be guided by an overarching principle of achieving space utilization efficiency as well as scheduling that does not impede a student’s timely progress towards a degree.

New Task Force Charge  Review the Fall 2009 Ad Astra Strategic Check up Study and Bottleneck Study  Review the 2010 Student Opinion Class Scheduling Survey  Review and make recommendations for more efficient use of all classrooms during the entire scheduling week  Review and make recommendations for rooms or times that are bottlenecks  Review and make recommendations for authorized enrollment capacity of class sections  Review and make recommendations for the distribution of course offerings  Make recommendations regarding appeals for exceptions and timelines  Annual reporting of effective usage and review of policy effectiveness with recommendations to the executive sponsors