Start with a smaller schedule than you need

Add classes based on enrollment trends. Classes must be visible on the public schedule for at least 30 days before the first day of class.

• 5 weeks before the start of classes, deans should identify low enrolled classes at risk of being cancelled and make a plan for the class in consultation with the department chairs.
• No later than 3 working days before the start of class, review and implement the plan for low enrolled classes where enrollment has not increased significantly in consultation with the department chair and instructor. 
• The department chair or dean should communicate with students enrolled in the class about the cancellation and inform them of open classes.
• The department chair or dean should provide written communication to the instructor teaching the class.

 

Guiding Principles for Class Cancellation

• There should be strong communication between the dean, department chair, and impacted faculty.
• Students should be provided with alternative sections or courses when cancelling a class.
• Before cancelling, consider combining courses that meet at the same time or are both online with identical textbooks and section notes.
• Consider adding a later start section to accommodate students previously enrolled in a cancelled section.

Things to Consider Before Cancelling a Class

• Enrollment history for a course: Is this a course that normally fills late?
• Current trends: Is there a reason to believe the course may fill closer to the start of the term? For example, is there an outreach event that will attract students to this course requirement?
• Program & course viability: Is this a new course or a course part of a new program? If so, you may want to protect the class to allow the program to get off of the ground.
• Graduation or transfer requirement: Is the course a core requirement for a program? Is the course a capstone course for a program? If so, you should consider protecting the course to allow students to complete their program and graduate.
• Multiple offerings of the same course: Are there multiple sections of the same course? Are there multiple offerings of a different course that meets the same requirements? If so, compile a list of those offerings to share with students before cancelling the course.

• If no students are enrolled in the course, session changes are permitted after the start of registration.
• If students are enrolled in a course and there is a need to make a session change, the class will need to be cancelled and a new course added in the new session.*

*Because students receiving financial aid and other state and federal aid can be severely impacted by session changes, the college cannot move students into a session that starts and ends a different time than the one they enrolled in. To make these changes, students should be informed that their class is being cancelled and that a late start session is being added. The student can choose to enroll in the new course in the later session or find a course that starts at the beginning of the term to ensure their benefits are not impacted.

Modality changes are those that move a class from in person to a distance education modality or changes the type of distance education modality.

These are not permitted as Title 5 states that for distance education classes, students must be informed before enrolling in the course of any required meetings, hardware, and/or software. 

Changes to instructors and rooms are permitted at any point in the semester as needed.

Classes should be scheduled at their official class cap as identified on the Course Outline of Record. Running a class under the official class cap requires legitimate reason and prior approval of the Dean of Academic Affairs and Strategic Initiatives.