Approved by the:
Implemented (as modified*) by the:		 University Senate - April 20, 2000
Administration - July 28, 2000
Regents - no action required



Resolution on PeopleSoft

Be it resolved, the University Senate requests the administration to make changing the PeopleSoft system a very high priority. The system must automatically prevent students from registering for courses which end and start too close together to permit students to arrive on time at their next class.

COMMENT:

The Assembly Committee on Educational Policy (ACEP) has been concerned for years about students who register for overlapping classes, or who register for classes with end and start times that prevent the students from reaching their next class on time. In the spring of 1997 both the Senate and the Administration approved the Policy on Classes, Schedules, and Final Examinations For Semesters, which includes the following provision:

"2. Overlapping Classes

"No student shall be permitted to register for classes that overlap. Classes that have any common meeting time are considered to be overlapping, as are any back-to-back classes that have start and end times closer together than the standard change period for that campus.

"Only under extenuating circumstances shall petitions for overrides for such conflicts be permitted, and shall require the signatures of all faculty members involved. The decision to approve or disapprove such a petition for override is entirely discretionary with each faculty member involved."

 The Twin Cities Campus Assembly adopted an additional statement implementing this policy for the Twin Cities Campus:

"c) Overlapping Classes

"Students shall not be permitted to enroll in back-to-back courses, when both are on either the Minneapolis or St. Paul campus, where the ending time of one class is less than 15 minutes before the starting time of the next class. Students shall not be permitted to enroll in back-to-back courses, when one is on the Minneapolis campus and one on the St. Paul campus, that start or end within 30 minutes of each other." SCEP/ACEP recommended these policies to the Senate and Assembly because of the educational implications of students constantly arriving late to a class. Late entrances are disruptive for other students and for the instructor. Constant late entrance means the student always misses part of the class period. Inasmuch as SCEP believes that what happens in a class is important for the educational experience of students, it does not believe the University should permit students to enroll for classes for which they will always be late. SCEP understands that all students may, from time to time, be late for a class period, for a variety of legitimate reasons. What it finds objectionable, however, is that one or more students may consistently arrive late, often considerably after the class period has begun.

Part of this policy has not been enforced. The PeopleSoft system does bar students from enrolling in courses which actually overlap. But the system, as presently configured, cannot preclude student enrollment in back-to-back courses with less than a 15-minute interval between them, or less than a 30-minute interval when one class is in St. Paul and one is in Minneapolis.

This problem is endemic because 5-day classes use only the MWF schedule. But some of the problem would be solved if classes met ONLY at the standard class periods. SCEP has been informed that some students are late for class because their previous class did not meet at a standard time, so they did not have 15 minutes to get from one class to the next. Even then, however, students who have courses on Minneapolis and St. Paul may enroll for classes that are too close together, so they are always late.
 

* Central administration supports the sentiment of the resolution: "Be it resolved, the University Senate requests the administration to make changing the PeopleSoft system a very high priority. The system must automatically prevent students from registrering for courses."

It is most important that student not register for classes that overlap or for courses which end and start too close together to permit students to arrive on time at their next class. The administration should develop appropriate processes that will not permit this practice. This issue will be addressed as "fixes" to the PeopleSoft registration system are reviewed. Action will be taken depending upon available financial resources and other factors that determine the priority for the various modifications and upgrades that must be made to the program.


Return to Senate Resolutions Page