- Overview
- Faculty of Health procedure
- Teaching windows
- Instructor constraints
- Meet patterns
- Questions?
Instructors teaching in the Spring 2025 term are to complete the Health course requirements form between November 11 to 22, 2024, to have their preferred teaching window and meet patterns considered for Spring 2025. Please direct any questions to your scheduling representative.
M=Monday, T=Tuesday, W=Wednesday, R=Thursday, F=Friday
Overview
Scheduling software (Infosilem) was implemented and released for use in Spring 2014. The system replaced a manual scheduling process and is intended to improve scheduling outcomes for students, reduce staff workload, reduce the use of instructor block-offs, and improve schedule predictability for instructors. These changes support the University of Waterloo Principles of Timetabling that have been endorsed by the Provost’s Advisory Committee on Timetabling.
University of Waterloo principles of timetabling
- Provide a positive academic experience for students by constructing timetables with conflict-free core courses and the widest possible selection of elective courses;
- Support the pedagogical needs of courses and programs;
- Endeavour to schedule courses so that faculty members can balance their teaching, research and service activities;
- Consider the work-life balance of all UWaterloo community members: faculty, staff and students;
- Foster transparency and collaboration between academic and academic-support units in their timetabling activities;
- Provide support to academic units in their implementation of timetabling;
- Promote fair and equitable distribution of instructional times and locations;
- Reduce the overall time and effort consumed to create a timetable;
- Promote the effective use of teaching space.
Two processes were implemented to support the software:
- Daytime (core) meet pattern system will be monitored and, if necessary, altered to increase conflict-free course selection for students, course offering predictability, and room utilization. The focus is to improve the balance between undergraduate courses offered 3 x 1 hour MWF and courses offered 2 x 1.5 hours TR or MW.
- Teaching availability: Instructors are asked to select a teaching window within which they are available to teach each day (one of: 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., 10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., or 5:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.) and, if necessary, identify additional times they are not available to teach. An Instructor Constraint Form will facilitate collection of this information.
Faculty of Health procedure
Instructors will receive an email that the scheduling process has begun for each upcoming term. The email will include details of the scheduling process for the term and instructions on how to submit information through the Faculty of Health Requirements Form. The form collects information on their preferred meet patterns, teaching window, and course details. Instructors must complete and submit the form for up to three course offerings each term by the deadline in order for an instructor’s preferred meet pattern and teaching window to be considered. Instructors DO NOT need to complete this form for Centre for Extended Learning (CEL) online courses.
The information is then provided to their respective academic unit scheduling representative, who will provide the information to the chairs/director. The chairs/director will review the information to ensure that instructors’ choices are spread throughout the week. If an instructor's meet pattern or teaching window cannot be accommodated, the chair/director will contact the instructor to discuss other options. Course information is then entered into Infosilem scheduling software at which time the course schedules are created.
Teaching windows
Instructors are asked to select a preferred teaching window within which they will be scheduled to teach. The windows are:
- 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (default),
- 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.,
- 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (1 x 3 hour meet pattern cannot be selected within this teaching window),
- 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.,
- 5:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. (evening)
Please note that an instructor selects one teaching window which applies to all courses assigned to the instructor that term.
It is the responsibility of the chair/director to ensure that teaching windows are spread evenly over the three start times (8:30, 9:00, and 10:00) to maximize course availability for students and room utilization.
Instructor constraints (level 1, 2, or 3)
Instructors that require additional block off times from within their selected teaching window may submit a level 1, 2, or 3 constraint:
Level 1 = Requests categorized as level 1 involve documented medical and religious/human rights necessity.
Level 2 = Requests categorized as level 2 include some medical considerations, some family care scheduling considerations, and some competing academic or administrative commitments. These requests will be coded and all reasonable efforts will be made to accommodate.
Level 3 = Requests categorized as level 3 include personal preferences, logistic issues and travel arrangement considerations.
Levels 1 or 2 constraints must be submitted to your chair/director using the Instructor Constraint Form, available from your school/department scheduling representative. Level 3 constraints do not require chair/director approval and can be noted in the "Additional information" section of the course requirements form.
For more information, see Registrar resources - instructor constraint guidelines.
Meet patterns
Meet time patterns should promote maximum access for students to courses, course enrolments, and the number of courses that can be scheduled into a given set of classrooms. To this end, the below guidelines will be followed.
Guidelines
- The core daytime teaching hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. M - F.
- Evening teaching hours are 6:30 to 10:00 p.m. M - R.
- Course components (e.g. lectures, labs, tutorials, etc.) held in core hours will be scheduled within teaching blocks of 8:30 a.m. - 11:20 a.m., 11:30 a.m. - 2:20 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. - 5:20 p.m.
- Course components held in core hours must not overlap two teaching blocks.
Specific meet patterns
A list of all available meet patterns can be found on the Registrar resources site.
Commonly used meet patterns in the Faculty of Health:
| Pattern | Start Times |
|---|---|
| 3 x 1 hour MWF | Start times can be 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., every hour on the half hour. |
| 2 x 1 hour MW | Start times can be 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., every hour on the half hour. |
| 2 x 1.5 hours TR only | Start times can be 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., every hour and a half. |
| 2 x 1.5 hours MW | Start times can be 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., every hour and a half for courses with less than 250 students. |
| 2 x 1.5 hours MW, TR | Start times can be 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., every hour and a half for courses with less than 250 students. |
| 2 x 2 hours MW, TR, WF | Start times can be 8:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., or 2:30 p.m. |
| 1 x 1 hour M-F | Start times can be 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., every hour on the half hour. |
| 1 x 1.5 hours M-F | Start times can be 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. every hour and a half. |
| 1 x 2 hours M-F | Start times can be 8:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. |
| 1 x 3 hours M-F | Start times can be 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., every three hours for courses with less than 80 students. |
| 1 x 3 hours M-F (2:30 p.m.) | Start time will be 2:30 p.m. for courses with 80 or more students. |
| 1 x 3 hours M-R Evening (6:30 p.m.) | Start time will be 6:30 p.m. |
| 1 x 3 hours M-R Evening (7:00 p.m.) | Start time will be 7:00 p.m. |
| 1 x 2 hours M-F Lab | Start times can be 8:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m. |
| 1 x 2 hours M-F Lab/Set up time | Start times can be 9:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. |
| 1 x 3 hours M-F Lab | Start times can be 9:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m. or 7:00 p.m. |
| 1 x 3 hours M-F Lab (1:30 p.m.) | Start time will be 1:30 p.m. |
Please note that meet patterns are chair/director approved and are not guaranteed.
It is the responsibility of the chair/director to ensure that there is an equitable distribution of meet patterns to promote maximum access for students to courses, and to maximize the number of courses that can be scheduled into a given set of classrooms.
Further information about scheduling is also available on the Registrar resources site including Registrar-managed classroom layouts.
Questions?
Please direct any questions to your scheduling representative (below) or Leeann Ferries, Associate Dean, Undergraduate Studies.
Academic unit scheduling representatives
Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences
Alicia Nadon, undergraduate and graduate course scheduling
Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies
Fiona McAlister, undergraduate and graduate course scheduling
School of Public Health Sciences
Doris Makowich, undergraduate course scheduling
Jaiden Cote, graduate course scheduling
Michelle Fluit, professional graduate programs