He has comprehensive knowledge of all the classrooms on campus, who is using them, who won't use them, and what needs are going unmet. The committee endorses the proposed cosmetic changes to rooms in Carnegie, and in the basement of Steiner. The practice of assigning departmental ownership to classrooms requires careful consideration. We saw that ownership had both a positive and negative effect on the use of classrooms. Departments who have their name on a classroom have a commitment to use that room whether or not it is ideal for their purposes.
Different disciplines have different pedagogical needs, however.
A room very carefully designed for an Art History course may not adequately serve the purposes of a course in another field. Assigned rooms should provide maximal flexibility for a variety of uses while still addressing the specific needs of the primary discipline. The issue of classroom ownership will have the most impact on departments housed in ARH and Carnegie since most of these departments do not have assigned classrooms and are more likely to be directed to available classrooms outside of their building by the registrar's office. The Instructional Support Committee recommends the creation of a classroom database which notes various features of that classroom, including blackboard space, windows, types of tables, computer equipment, etc. This database should be accessible via the Web.