New Scheduler Onboarding

Astra is a web-based software that provides the Registrar's Office, and other campus departments, a scheduling management system for academic classes, meetings, and events. All university faculty, staff, and students have guest access to view and request general-assignment classrooms. Astra documentation and resource materials can be found on our Astra Tutorials Training webpage.

CLSS is a web-based tool for departments to review, submit, and maintain their Schedule of Classes. The software also has several tools which will help administrators create optimal schedules for students. CLSS will be an integral part of your role as a department scheduler, so familiarizing yourself with the system will be essential. CLSS documentation and resource materials can be found on our CLSS webpage.

Think of the catalog on a macro scale (in terms of scope) – essentially, it is the foundation off of which the class schedule is built. The catalog includes detailed descriptions of programs and courses offered by the university. These descriptions cover everything from program contact information, course fees and course content to credit values and grading bases. Most course details — such as course title, catalog number, credit value, and prerequisites — live in more of a permanent state at the catalog level.

Alternatively, if we’re thinking of the catalog on a macro scale, then the class schedule can be thought of on a micro scale (in terms of specificity). In the class schedule you will find specific information about the courses being offered in a particular semester. This includes meeting dates, days and times, assigned classroom, instructor information, instruction method, enrollment capacity, etc. The class schedule lives in a more fluid state as it reflects the current semester’s offerings, which may change from term to term.

The Curriculum Administration department oversees the course catalog, and the system they use for its management is Coursedog (effective Sept 2024). 

The Scheduling Division of the Registrar’s Office oversees the class schedule, and the system we use for its management is Courseleaf – CLSS.

Credit hours are the quantitative measurement assigned to a course, generally stated in semester hours at the University of Utah (and sometimes quarter hours at other institutions.)

A University credit hour represents approximately three clock hours of the student's time a week for one semester. Pertaining to a semester-long fall or spring class which is approximately 15 weeks in length, it is generally expected throughout the University that there is at least one hour in class and two hours outside of class per week or the equivalent combination connected to every credit hour for the appropriately prepared student. In laboratories it is expected that at least 2 to 3 hours are spent in class and approximately the same amount outside for each credit hour awarded.  So, if you’re offering an in-person 3 credit hour class you should expect roughly 45 hours in class and 90 hours outside of class.

Policy information about credit hours and contact hours can be found in the Regulations Library Policy 6-100.

If variable credits are allowed at the catalog level, you can make adjustments within that range on the class section level.  Each section of a variable course can remain a range or fixed credits.

Sections with variable credits default back to the range each semester, so if you need fixed units they must be re-assigned each term.

CLSS will not let you assign variable credits to a fixed credit course. If you want to change the course from fixed credits to variable, you will need to get in touch with Curriculum to assign that change. Units should be assigned before students begin registration.

When students are enrolled, you cannot change the variable credits, you will need to cancel the class and set up a new one with a correct number of credits.

For shorter terms (summer term length, fall/spring session 2, 3, & 4), the number of hours in class & work outside of class is pro-rated for the shorter instruction period and more time will be required each week to make up for that shorter number of weeks.  So, for example, a six week half term summer class should have twice as many contact hours per week than a 12 week summer class. A six week half term summer class should also, in essence, have a bit more contact hours a week than an 8 week half term fall class. It should still be the equivalent of the full number of required contact hours.

We have a Class Planning Data webpage to help you find the information that you need. This new resource includes information on the following:

• Online Class Schedule – Find quick and easy access to the enrollment data for a desired term, including current enrollment, enrollment cap, wait list, and seats available. All of this is available with no additional security access required.
• Class Demand Report – This resource requires additional security in order to access, but it includes a lot of additional data that you may find useful, including the number of students with a section in their shopping cart, wait list, current enrollment, the current room and its seating capacity, and a breakdown of demand for a course. It also features downloadable data, and the ability to contact students on wait lists or with sections in their shopping cart.
• CLSS Filters – CLSS requires additional access and the filters can be initially challenging to learn, but we’ve made it easier by providing customizable links for you to access several key data points. Just copy and paste a link into your browser, update as needed using the key we’ve provided, and be taken to a list of classes that meets that criterion. We currently have customizable links available for current enrollment, general education requirement designations, and wait list.
• CLSS Heatmap – This feature will show you a visualized heatmap of when you are offering your classes. This can be filtered by college or department. CLSS access is required.
• CLSS Framer – This feature gives you the ability to compare detailed section offerings across up to three historical terms. CLSS access is required.

Visit our new Class Planning Data webpage for more detailed information about each resource and how to request access.

Final exams are administered at the end of each term as directed by a university-set schedule. When final exams are required, they must be given in the regularly scheduled classroom according to the published Academic Calendar and Final Exam Schedule.  This schedule is published simultaneously with the class schedule. Exams should be proctored at the times officially set by the Office of the Registrar. Exams should not be held on Reading Day. Typically to ensure the appropriate number of contact hours required for undergraduate courses, Final Exams should not be proctored during the last lecture of the semester. Instructors must reserve a room in advance with Scheduling for classes that do not have a set time according to the final exam schedule. 

Every section in the schedule should have a primary instructor of record.  The instructor of record is important as it indicates who should have access to Canvas, Grading, and be assessed through Course Evaluation.

In order to add an instructor into the CLSS system, you will need to have the instructor’s name and university ID.  If you are not able to find the instructor in the system, you will need to leave their information in the Comments box. Once we apply the instructor in PeopleSoft, you will then be able to find that instructor in CLSS going forward.

A section can include a note with additional information about the class not already explained, however should not include things like class description, fees, etc. A set of standard notes is available for selection in the CLSS dropdown.

PeopleSoft is the Student Information System (SIS) used by the University to store records information. PeopleSoft can be accessed through the Campus Information Services (CIS) portal.  More information on obtaining access to the system can be found on the Student Systems Security webpage.

Permission numbers are used by students to add a class when the section is full, or when a section’s enrollment is restricted by the department or instructor. Permission is also required to enroll in a class any time after the first week of classes, but before a late add form is required.

Permission numbers are section specific and can only be used once. For example, a permission code generated for MATH 1010-003 has to be used for that exact section. It will not work for any other sections. Once the permission number has been used by a student to add the class, the same number cannot be used again. Each student must use a unique permission code to enroll in the section.

Permission codes are generated at the following times for each term for all classes that exist on that date:

• Initial class schedule publish date
• Open enrollment date
• Upon request for sections that are set up late

The Scheduling Office can generate permission numbers for classes added after the initial batch process upon request. Department schedulers can add a comment on the section in CLSS of PERM:X indicating the number of codes needed. For those without CLSS access, you can email a request to scheduling@utah.edu.

Scheduling staff members cannot provide permission numbers. We can generate them in the system, but someone within your department who has access will need to retreive those.  Instructions for accessing permission numbers on the roster can be found at the bottom of the first page of this PDF, and they continue onto the second page.

More information about permission codes can be found on the Department Permission Numbers webpage.

All classes listed as in-person should have a room assigned where instruction is to occur.

When building the initial class schedule, rooms applied to active sections will roll from like term to like term, and will continue to do so as long as no changes are made to the class meeting pattern or enrollment capacity. If you have made arrangements for a specialty classroom that is not part of the general assignment pool, you will need to request that space each academic term or request a new room.  A new classroom and/or specific room numbers or preferences may be requested at any time through a comment in CLSS or by selecting General Assignment Classroom from the room dropdown.

For new sections needing a room, rooms assignments will be made according to pedagogical needs, taking into account where your department is located (preferred building) and room size. The Scheduling Division adheres to a 66% fill capacity rule which is taken into consideration during room selection as well.

The enrollment capacity (and meets-with enrollment capacity in some cases) needs to be at least at 66.7% utilization of a room’s capacity to meet the utilization rule. Our office follows this utilization rule per USHE Policy R751, Institutional Facilities Space Utilization which requires a minimum Station Occupancy Rate (SOR) of 66.7% seat occupancy.  Each room should have at least 33.75 hours of use across the week as a Room Utilization Rate (RUR). You can also help us meet this requirement by encouraging teaching across the full span of the day and on Friday.

We create effective and efficient utilization of institutional classroom and class laboratories through appropriate space assignment and scheduling. The university is required to submit an annual institutional utilization report to the Board of Regents, and utilization/seat occupancy can affect how much capital facilities funding the University of Utah may receive from the state legislature.  Be sure you are listing your class locations so we can provide accurate data to the state.

Academic classes are given priority in general assignment classrooms, but GA spaces can also be reserved for meetings and events. After classes have been placed for a given term, event and meeting requests are then accepted. This is generally 6-8 weeks before a term begins. Requests can then be made through the University Employee Request form on the Astra Portal.

What If I Would Like to Hold A Larger Event?

If your event will have attendance over 50 people, be outdoors, or include food, then please use the ‘Special Event Application’ form in the Astra Request Event dropdown menu. This form has many of the same features as the University Employee Request form, but it also collects information for the events review group that helps inform how public safety, custodial, grounds, and other campus entities allocate resources for your event.

Submitting A Request

We have a guide to using the University Employee Request form on our website. This guide will walk you through the steps needed to submit the form. In addition to these instructions, please remember to give your event a useful and descriptive title. Users viewing the calendar should be able to quickly tell what is happening in a classroom. If you are holding a class related activity, please be sure to include information that identifies the class. Good examples of event names include: MATH 1010-001 Review Session, or Biology Department Staff Meeting. Poor examples include: just the word ‘meeting’, ‘review session’ without reference to the related class, or a person’s name.

However, if we don’t have any space available, you can find a helpful list of facilities scheduled by other departments on our website.

Standard time blocks are measured blocks of academic hours scheduled over the M – F week. There are schedules built for 1 – 4 credit hour classes offered.

Standard Time Blocks exist to create consistency in a student’s schedule, and also consistency in space utilization. When a student is able to build their schedule according to standard time blocks, it allows them to maximize the number of classes they can take in a semester, as well as creating a class schedule that works alongside their personal schedule. Classes that aren’t offered on the standard time block track can negatively affect a student’s class schedule by creating conflicts with other classes, some of which may be required, and may also take away an opportunity to squeeze in a few extra credits.

In terms of space utilization, standard time blocks help the Scheduling Division maximize classroom usage by neatly “stacking” as many classes to a room as possible.

Standard time blocks are generally required of all undergraduate classes, and graduate classes held in general-assignment classrooms. Standard time blocks are not required during summer term, however they may still be helpful to follow. An exception to the standard time blocks may be submitted to the Scheduling Division, should a department encounter a need to offer a class off-track. 

A section number is a three-number combination that identifies the separate sections being offered under a course’s catalog number for a particular term. In general, section numbers should be sequential based on the number of offered sections, 001, 002, etc. and should not have specific meaning.

As you set up new sections, or review term schedules, please ensure you are creating the appropriate section number for your class. Some section numbers do correspond to a particular modality or location.  You can find a list of currently approved section numbers on our website.

The term "Session" refers to the dates the class meets throughout the semester

• Regular Session - classes meeting the full term (This is the default session.  If no class dates appear, the class is a regular session offering.)
• 1st Half (2) - classes meeting the first half of the semester
• 2nd Half (3)- classes meeting the second half of the semester
• Miscellaneous or 4th Session (4) - classes meeting on miscellaneous dates in the semester (i.e., a two-week intensive course).  Classes rolled from previous term with miscellaneous dates will change back to the default session 4 dates, which begin before 1st session and end after final exams.  Please designate specific dates for these classes so rooms will be assigned accurate dates.  Please double check all end dates as those dates determine when web grading will be available for instructors.

Please note: Classes must begin and end within the listed session 4 dates for the term in which the class is taught, in accordance with the Academic Calendar and Title IV Funding Regulations. Class dates cannot cross session 4 boundaries.  Please refer to the Session Dates Calendar for more information.

Updates that require special review in CLSS will be sent to a workflow queue that is checked throughout the day for terms that are in refine mode. Comments in the Comments box will also be sent to the workflow queue. If additional information is needed regarding your update or comment, a follow-up will be sent via email as there is no live communication function in the system.