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Plan the Logistics

Table of Contents

  • Scheduling and Classrooms
    • Determine Course Meeting Times
    • Determine Section Meeting Times
    • Request Classrooms
    • Reserve Rooms for Sections
    • Indicate Final Assessment Plans
  • Enrollment
    • Determine Number of Sections
    • Enrollment Policies
    • Student Registration
    • Sectioning
    • Access Student Rosters
  • Instructional Support Staff
    • Hire Instructional Staff
    • Train Instructional Staff
  • Course Materials
    • Design Canvas Site and Post Materials
    • Ensure Materials are Accessible
    • Request Library Reserves
    • Copyright and Fair Use
    • Prepare and Order Materials for Lab and Studios
    • Order Textbooks
  • Classroom Technology
    • Become Familiar with Classroom Technology
    • Request Lecture Capture
  • Class Activities
    • Plan Science Demonstrations
    • Schedule Film Screenings
    • Plan Library, Museum Visits
    • Plan Field Trips
    • Arrange Technology for Student Use
  • Accommodations
    • Accommodations for Students
    • Accommodations for Instructors

Scheduling and Classrooms

Departmental staff generally coordinate course scheduling and classroom requests for FAS courses. This page provides a general overview of the process; check with your department to determine what information your department’s curriculum coordinator needs from you.

Determine Course Meeting Times

Course meeting times are governed by FAS faculty legislation, and managed by the FAS Registrar. 

Determine Section Meeting Times

If you are teaching a class with a discussion or lab section, section times should be listed along with other course meeting times in the course catalog. TFs and TAs will be expected to plan around the section times chosen in advance. Consider the following guidelines from the Registrar’s Office for determining section times:

Request Classrooms

Academic departments, building schedulers, and the Registrar’s Office Classrooms team coordinate FAS course locations, factoring in instructional requirements, technology needs, enrollment history, and accessibility needs of instructors and students. Be sure to discuss your course’s learning activities and classroom needs with your department’s curriculum coordinator so they can help you find classrooms to suit those activities.

Reserve Rooms for Sections

Course or departmental staff typically request classrooms for section meetings. As prior term registration is implemented, departments will reserve space for section meetings prior to the start of classes. Visit the Registrar’s Office to learn more about the process for requesting classrooms for sections.

Indicate Final Assessment Plans

Be sure to report your final assessment type (e.g. final exam, final paper, final project) to the Registrar through your Canvas site or through my.harvard.

Enrollment

Determine number of sections

The Section Allocation Tool (SAT) is used by department administrators and OUE to determine the number of sections for each course based on projected enrollments. Preliminary section allocations are typically approved in March for the following academic year.

Once OUE provides preliminary approval for the number of sections for your course, your department’s curriculum coordinator will enter section times into the course catalog. Following registration, OUE will make any necessary adjustments to the number of sections based on actual enrollment in the course.

Enrollment Policies

Learn about how students add or drop courses, when and how students request permission from an instructor to enroll in a course, and other policies related to enrollment in the FAS Faculty Handbook.

  • OUE offers additional guidance about simultaneous enrollment (by which students enroll in two classes that meet at the same time).
  • Harvard College Handbook for Students offers guidance to students about enrollment and grading policies (pages 21-25).
  • If there are pedagogical reasons for limiting which students can enroll in your course, the Registrar’s website offers information about about limited enrollment processes under registration.

Student Registration

In May 2022, the FAS faculty voted to shift course enrollment to the semester before courses start, beginning with registration for Spring 2024 courses. Beginning in Fall 2023, Harvard College and Harvard Griffin GSAS students will register for spring courses in November, and they will register for fall courses in April. Incoming first-year students will register for fall courses in August. Students will have time during the first week of classes to adjust their schedules during the add/drop period. 

Sectioning

Students now choose their sections concurrently with course registration.  The Registrar’s web page on sectioning provides information about how students may register for a section or indicate their section preferences.

Access Student Rosters

After students register for classes, you can find a roster of students enrolled in your course, along with student photos, in my.harvard and in your course Canvas website. Read more about tools that are available through the my.harvard student information system, and about Canvas course websites.

Instructional Staff

While faculty course heads are ultimately responsible for all aspects of instruction in their course, there are a number of instructional support roles available to support teaching in the FAS, including Teaching Fellows, Teaching Assistants, Course Assistants, Tutorial Leaders, Preceptors, and more. Your department and OUE Instructional Support will work with you to determine which roles will be best suited to your course.

Hire instructional staff (TFs, TAs, CAs)

Information about hiring graduate student Teaching Fellows (TFs), Teaching Assistants (TAs), and undergraduate course assistants (CAs) can be found on:

Helpful tools for hiring instructional staff:

  • The Section Allocation Tool (SAT) is used by department administrators and the OUE to communicate about section allocations for courses, and to record those communications. Each March, departments submit their section requests into the SAT for the upcoming academic year. Through this tool, OUE provides information about how many sections are approved for a course, which will inform TF/TA hiring.
  • The Central Application for Teaching Sections (CATS) tool helps departments make TF opportunities visible to graduate students and allows graduate students to apply for positions.

Train Instructional Staff

Registration provides more certainty about the number of sections for your courses, and consequently will lead to fewer last-minute changes regarding TF/TA appointments. In turn, this will provide more time to ensure that your TFs/TAs are well prepared to teach in your course.

In the weeks prior to the start of term, meet with your instructional team to orient them with your expectations, the goals of the course, and teaching strategies. Share a pre-term planner to clarify the roles and responsibilities of TFs/TAs.

Encourage your TFs/TAs to participate in professional development prior to the start of term and throughout the year:

Additionally, the Bok Center is available to facilitate custom workshops for your teaching team on topics ranging from facilitating discussions to giving feedback on student work.

Course Materials

Design Canvas Site and Post Materials

Your course’s Canvas site introduces students to your course during course registration, and serves as a resource throughout the semester. You can use Canvas to share course materials; post announcements for students; post, collect, and grade assignments (including quizzes); foster online discussions; and integrate other tools you may be using in your course.

Ensure materials are accessible

Harvard’s Digital Accessibility Policy (updated in June 2023) requires that when posting University content (including course materials), you “should aim to make such content conform to [web accessibility] Standards, to the extent technically feasible.” Guidance and support for creating accessible content includes:

Request Library Reserves

Harvard Library works with faculty and instructors to help provide students with access to course-related library resources, including print, media, and streaming resources. The page below provides information on the course reserves submission process (via Canvas) as well as general deadlines for submission.

Copyright and Fair Use

Librarians at the Harvard Library are available to help you understand how Copyright and Fair Use might affect what materials you may use in your teaching.

Prepare and Order Materials for Lab and Studios

If your course includes a laboratory or studio component, ordering supplies and materials may require additional planning and lead time. Your teaching team should coordinate with your department about the process for obtaining materials for your course.

Order Textbooks

Classroom Technology

Become Familiar with Classroom Technology

Audiovisual equipment in FAS classrooms can be variable; projection systems, microphones, speakers may be quite different across the College’s space portfolio. A successful experience for your students may rely on your understanding and use of the AV environment available to you. Education Support Services (ESS) offers consultation and support for many interactions that you might wish to engage in.

Request Lecture Capture

Lecture capture can be helpful for situations such as simultaneous enrollment courses, courses with lots of chalkboard work (formulas, chemistry diagrams, etc.), or courses that require significant, repeated review of materials to support student success. Lecture capture is not recommended as a default addition to courses, and should be contingent on pedagogical needs, rather than student convenience. Lecture capture should not be used to account for student absence.

Class Activities

Plan Science Demonstrations

Faculty teaching in the Science Center can invite the Natural Science Lecture Demonstrations team to provide demonstrations on a wide variety of topics to supplement lectures in physics, chemistry, astronomy, and biology.

Schedule film screenings

Faculty who use film as a required element in their course may avail themselves of streaming titles (available through the Libraries) or elect to screen materials in a classroom or auditorium. Please note that few rooms are equipped with DVD players; requests for specific equipment can be made via ess@fas.harvard.edu. Copy protection may, in some cases, prevent the playback of commercial media via a computer. Contact ESS for a consultation.

Faculty should review Harvard’s fair use guidelines for screening video as you make your course content decisions.

Plan library, museum visits

Plan Field Trips

If you plan to incorporate field trips into your course, you must secure permission from the OUE (for College courses) or GSAS (for graduate-level courses) prior to course registration.

Arrange technology for student use

Though most students have a laptop, the College and Harvard Griffin GSAS do not have a computer requirement, nor specific standards for student computers. If assignments or activities in your class expect students to have particular software installed (beyond everyday tools like Office365), or require access to online tools or resources (e.g. data science tools, AWS environments, etc.), please consult with Academic Technology.

Accommodations

Accommodations for Students

Harvard University is committed to providing students with disabilities equal access to all programs and activities through inclusive design and the provision of reasonable accommodations. All course syllabi should include an accessibility statement. Students requiring accommodations will work with the Disability Access Office (DAO) to email you individual notifications of their necessary academic accommodations. The DAO is committed to an interactive process with faculty to implement student accommodations in ways that are appropriate to their course objectives.

Accommodations for Instructors

Faculty with disabilities who require accommodations for teaching should contact FAS Faculty Affairs, and graduate students who require accommodations for teaching should contact University Disability Resources.