The Office of the University Registrar coordinates academic scheduling and is significantly involved in facilitating the management of course and classroom scheduling across much of Washington University in St. Louis’ Danforth Campus.
University-Managed (Pooled) Classrooms
Classroom Change Request Policy
Pooled classroom assignments are considered final upon their publishing in the Course Listings. In a limited number of exceptions, however, a classroom change might be required after the assignment is made. Click here to review those exceptions and submit the classroom change request form if the current assignment falls under one of those exceptions.
Classroom Assignment Policy
The OUR assigns university pooled classrooms. University policy does not allow for personalized requests or specific pooled classroom requests except under certain limited circumstances.* University-managed pooled classrooms are designed to meet the teaching and learning needs of a broad range of academic programs (over 150 departments) and to provide space options for the entire Danforth community. Demand for classrooms has never been higher; a systematized process, following certain business rules, is used in order to ensure equitable access to space and maximize utilization.
Pooled classrooms are assigned through an automated process in EMS, the university classroom scheduling tool. Room assignments are determined by variables correlated with each course section, such as required seating, day of the week, time of day, and seating format (e.g., seminar style). The type and number of courses offered at the same time impacts classroom assignments also (10a.m. – 2p.m. are peak times). These class section features are expected to be accurate at the time courses are made public in Course Listings in order to facilitate room assignment processing. Seating capacity and classroom features in particular should be carefully selected.
*There are a few exceptions to the automated assignment of a pooled classroom, for example, HR approved classroom accommodations for health reasons and approved requests for an Active Learning Classroom (ALC). To submit a request to HR for a classroom accommodation please visit: https://hr.wustl.edu/items/ada-accommodation-process/.
Classroom Scheduling Policy
Washington University requires all fall and spring classes scheduled in university-managed (pooled) classrooms to adhere to a standard set of meeting days and times. Read more about the classroom scheduling policy and approved teaching days and times.
Classroom Directory
To see a list of university-managed (pooled) classrooms scheduled by the Office of the University Registrar, visit the classroom directory (with descriptions, photos and room features) on the The Center for Teaching and Learning website.
Information Needed for Assigning Pooled Classrooms
Academic departments collect teaching information from instructors to help ensure that courses are assigned to the pooled classrooms best suiting the needs of the instructor and course.
Instructors should provide departmental academic administrators with information such as preferred standard teaching days and times, enrollment limits and pooled classroom room feature preferences, including audio-visual needs.
WUCRSL users must enter pooled classroom feature preferences into a website called the Classroom Planning Interface (CPI). Documents for using the CPI can be found here:
CPI Course Preferences Report (PDF)
Contact pooledclassrooms@wustl.edu with questions regarding scheduling classes into university-managed classrooms.
Requesting an Active Learning Classroom (ALC)
Active Learning Classrooms are student-centered, technology-rich spaces that promote collaborative learning. Learn more about ALC options on the Center for Teaching and Learning website.
Requests for an ALC are approved by members of the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) but scheduled by the Office of the University Registrar (OUR).
To request an Active Learning Classroom submit the request here.
Requesting Pooled Classrooms for Non-Academic-Related Events
The Office of the University Registrar is responsible for scheduling all academic-related events (including classes, evening exams, review sessions and final exams) into pooled classrooms. Those who wish to use pooled classrooms for special (non-academic) events should first review the policy for requesting pooled classrooms established by Event Management on their website.
Requests for pooled classrooms may be made by visiting Reserve-A-Space, a resource for students, faculty and staff to request event spaces across most of the Danforth Campus.