Open forum addresses new block schedule

Administrators defended the block schedule at an open forum last night as they fielded complaints from students who said it created too many conflicts.

Speaking to a sparse audience of 13 students in Hotung Caf?©, Dean of the Colleges Charles Inouye and Director of Administration Paul Stanton used a computer presentation to show what they consider the improvements of the new schedule over the old. While they explained how the new schedule was attempted to improve use of classroom space, many new problems have arisen.

Frequently-cited problems included the lack of space for classes at high-demand times and conflicts between classes and extracurricular activities. "There's a space issue, there's a time issue, there's sort of a culture issue," Inouye said, referring to the college lifestyle that makes early morning classes unattractive to many students. "In solving that problem, we've created other problems."

Athletes who are forced to miss practices in order to attend the upper-level classes they need for their majors have expressed particular frustration with the new schedule.

Athletes who were used to the previous schedule were also used to the "rhythm" of classes, and were frustrated when class times changed, Stanton said. "It is new, I think that was one of the problems for athletes, too," he said.

The system will take some time to get adjusted to, and "growing pains" need to be worked out, Stanton and Inouye said.

One of the problems for athletes is that the University has gone from offering nearly zero to over 300 courses between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m., the prime time for athletic practices. "We've worked with Bill Gehling, the Athletic Director, to deal with specific issues in that time period," Stanton said.

Stanton suggested that practices be held earlier in the morning, since students are "probably not in classes then." The University has also asked departments to avoid scheduling required courses with only one section during the 4:30 to 6:30 time block.

Students have also found problems with conflicts between the classes themselves. "The main complaint I had with this schedule is that classes overlap in the same time," sophomore Chike Aguh said.

But that, according to administrators, is not a new problem. A graphic of the earlier schedule showed the difference between class overlap under the old and new block schedule. Under the previous schedule, several classes met during each high-demand block. "We would have some departments dumping as many as 40 courses into the same block," Stanton said. "Talk about conflicts."

The main cause of class overlap is that the chairs of the departments aren't always aware of the schedules they approve, according to Stanton. "We've put the weight on the shoulders of the chairs," Stanton said.

The new schedule has also reduced the number of courses meeting at specially arranged times from 1,806 to 480. "When somebody couldn't meet at a particular time, they created a new time," Inouye said. "We're holding the departments to higher standards." But some faculty members were, at least initially, unhappy that their flexibility had been reduced.

Despite these changes, administrators were not able to accommodate the common request to eliminate scheduled exams during the open block on Mondays, which students said prevented them from attending some activity meetings. But Stanton said the exam period "had been institutionalized for decades."

The new block schedule has had some success, however, particularly in addressing overcrowding issues and the underutilization of classroom space. The University hired a consultant who recommended using a schedule that maximized classroom space at available times, rather than spending upwards of $10 million to build new classrooms. "We have an abundance of space," Inouye said. "The real problem is how we use what we have."

Some of the money saved by avoiding new classroom construction has been used to improve existing rooms. Stanton mentioned Braker 001, which has gone from "worst to first" due to its renovation, and the remodeling of Cabot Auditorium that will take place this summer. Between $1 and $1.5 million a year is being spent on improving classrooms.

Many of the students who attended the forum, which was organized by the TCU Senate, reacted positively. "It was a learning experience," Senate Vice President Andrew Potts said.

Potts and former Senate President Melissa Carson said they would have liked it if more students had turned out. Ironically, many students who had wanted to attend could not; they were in class.