Scheduling Considerations

When meeting with a student to plan for a new semester or modify the schedule for a current semester, scheduling issues will often play a large role.

Students may choose courses at certain times of day for various reasons:

• Transportation
• Child care responsibilities
• Work hours
• Athletic practices and games
• Knowing the hours when his or her mind is most alert and productive.

As advisors, we would be thrilled if our input to the student’s schedule was all about the courses, and we did not have to worry about where or when the courses are offered. In our less-than-perfect world, it will not always work that way. If the student cannot put together a schedule that is realistic due to restrictions of time and location, the advisor may need to suggest alternate courses that do fit the schedule and still fit into the student’s academic program.

The advisor can assist the student as he or she determines how many credits will be appropriate, given the demands on the student’s time. The advisor should help the student understand that courses that run for five-week, seven-week, and summer sessions will demand out-of-class study time at a different rate from fifteen-week classes. Remind the student that he or she needs to have two to three hours outside of class for every hour in class, for assignments and studying. If a given class meets for three hours a week, the student needs to find six to nine hours each week to do the study and class preparation for just that course.

Many students will look to web sections of various courses as a way to deal with troublesome schedule limitations. For some students, this will be a successful choice, but for others less successful.

Please review the guidelines for online course selection before recommending web sections to a student.