During the timebands for which these rooms are in use, actual utilization is well below room capacity for many of them. Certain programs are able to concentrate most of their large classes into one room. For example, Architecture is taught in 150 ARC, History in Aud1 AH, Chemistry in 160 F, Business in the Melcher Hall lecture rooms, ENGR in W122D3. However, certain other programs teach their large sections all over campus, notably Pharmacy, Biology and Art History. Attention should be given to difficulties caused by these inconsistencies.
Many students prefer to take classes in prime time.
Many faculty and students prefer classes that meet twice rather than three times a week, leading to an imbalance in TTH versus MWF enrollments. Administrators prefer to schedule classes in prime time, in order to keep faculty and students happy and to maximize SCH for formula funding and workload. The current room allocation system awards priority by discipline, not by potential to make full use of room capacity. The attendant congestion impacts students' access to the Library, computer clusters, office hours of instructors and advisors, parking, and other activities and services. Ownership of rooms is a good thing, to the extent that it encourages pride in and responsibility for maintenance of the learning environment.