document iconmyCSUSM
cougar courses logoCOUGAR COURSES
email iconEMAIL
email iconMS OFFICE APPS
password iconPASSWORD
MANAGEMENT
Your  Account:
document iconmyCSUSM
cougar courses logoCOUGAR COURSES
email iconEMAIL
office iconMS OFFICE APPS
password iconPASSWORD
MANAGEMENT
Academic Scheduling

Building the Class Schedule

This page is for Department Chairs (DCs) who build the class schedule. For the purposes of this webpage, DC includes all Program Directors and Coordinators who are also a part of this process. 

Details for the Fall 2023 Schedule Build

  1. ALL sections need a PLAN and a PLAN B. The need for PLAN & PLAN B will remain as we move forward so that we are able to recognize how a section is offered and how to shift if needed (examples: viral case increases, wildfires).
    • Online instruction options are available to departments that had approval to use them prior to the pandemic.
      PLAN Options & Description
      PERSON Class meets In-Person
      HYBASYNC Class meets In-Person & Async - If department was able to use this option pre-pandemic, it can still be used.
      ASYNC Class will be Asynchronous Online - If department was able to use this option pre-pandemic, it can still be used.
      IS Independent Study – if the class is Indept Study, no other PLAN is needed
      PLAN B Options & Description
      ASYNC Class will be Asynchronous Online
      SYNC Class will be Synchronous Online
      ASY&SY Online Sync & Async
      IS Independent Study – if the class is Indept Study, no other PLAN is needed
  2. Tentative Classes are accceptable to build for Fall 2023. 
  3. Spring and Winter are the SAME TERM in PeopleSoft. Tentative classes are tied intricately to this fact.
    • This requires all classes on the Spring 2023 state-side class schedule (what we are building) to change to Tentative before the Winter schedule goes live on Oct 10 - you do not need to do anything for this to happen, Academic Scheduling will switch all classes over to Tentative on Oct 7 so they will not show in the Winter Schedule.
    • Any course that will need to stay TENTATIVE when the Spring 2023 schedule goes live need to have an extra notation - the TENT course attribute that your staff is directed to put on each class that needs to stay tentative. Please be extra sure that if you change the course indication from needing to stay TENTATIVE (TENT) to not needing to stay Tentative, that you make it very clear to your staff schedule builder so they can remove the TENT course attribute.
    • On and after Oct 7, any class schedule query pulled will show ALL classes as Tentative. Do not change the courses to Active, Academic Scheduling will do this before the Spring 2023 schedule goes live (with the exception of those courses with the TENT course attribute).
  4. ONLY use Approved Class Meeting Times.
    • Reminder: Mon & Wed mornings before 2:30PM are NOT approved meeting times.
  5. The full Fall 2023 department class schedule must be provided to staff by March 10. PLEASE provide as much of the schedule to the staff as soon as possible.
    • There are 40-60 pieces to review/change for every single section. Entering the class schedule is a LOT of work, on top of everything else staff need to handle, so the sooner the better.
  6. Puzzling: Departments are NOT required to puzzle. It is entirely optional. While many staff do puzzle for their departments, DCs are the ones who schedule courses, which may make it easier for DCs to do the puzzling themselves. See the Puzzling webpage for more information.
    • Regular Puzzling: Associate Deans have sent out the rooms and those rooms can be inputted directly into PeopleSoft, once puzzling requirements are met. If regular puzzles do not meet requirements, the rooms will be removed during the Audit Period.
    • Competition Puzzles: due on March 15 by noon to Academic Scheduling (acdsched@csusm.edu)
  7. Permission Numbers:
    • April 14: Perm Nbrs are generated for Consent Required Classes.
    • April 26 & Once Per Week Thereafter: Perm Nbrs are generated for all enrollment sections based on Room Size minus (-) Class Cap.
    • Second week of the semester: Perm Nbrs generated based on Room Size minus (-) Nbr of Enrolled Students.
    • After each of these dates, the Permission Number Request Form can be submitted; however, if the room size will not accommodate more students, perm nbrs will not be generated. To allow for additional permission numbers faculty/staff may also submit a Room Change Request form prior to submitting a Perm Nbr Request form.
  8. GEM Classes are those that have both GE credit AND a Major/Minor Requirement. GEM ERGs (Enrollment Requirement Group) are used to hold seats for the Majors/Minors that need the course to graduate. The GEM ERG counts will come from the New Report for Fall 2023 Class Schedule. All GEM ERGs have an expiration (sunset) date of June 23.
    • Extra info: GEM ERGs are put on the Reserve Cap portion of the enrollment section in PeopleSoft to hold seats for majors/minors. Meaning “Reserve Cap,” “GEM ERGs,” “ERGs,” and “holding seats” are often used interchangeably by members of our campus community.
  9. The Room Change Request form can be submitted as soon as Classroom Rush is over starting on April 7 for the Fall 2023 semester.
    • Please have faculty review rooms as soon as possible. They can look at classrooms in 25Live for a photo and room features.
  10. Review the Fall 2023 Schedule Build Timeline for deadlines, processes, and other relevant schedule build information.