RIT Special Task Force on Scheduling and Time in Learning reports

Collection — Folder: 1-3

Identifier: RITArc-0206

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The RIT Special Task Force on Scheduling and Time in Learning mainly consists of preliminary reports by the RIT Steering Committee regarding the need and creation of the task force. Only the second part of the final report is included in this collection. A Study on Time and Learning at RIT was issued in October 1974, and focused on learning and instruction processes rather than on scheduling and registration inefficiencies.

Also included are a small amount of Steering Committee minutes regarding the task force.

Dates

Creation: 1972-1974

Creator

Rochester Institute of Technology. Special Task Force on Scheduling and Time in Learning (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open to researchers.

Biographical / Historical

In December 1972, amid complaints from faculty, staff, and students regarding the cumbersome system of scheduling classes and sections, the RIT Steering Committee created the Special Task Force on Scheduling and Time in Learning. The task force was charged with defining existing problems in scheduling, and providing a plan of action for solving those problems. A second charge was to determine if ways could be found to enhance student learning methods, increase the rate at which students learn, and determine if these methods would be appropriate for RIT. The improved system for scheduling and registration was to be in place for the 1974-1975 academic year.

Evidence for issues regarding scheduling included:

Scheduling procedures appeared to restrict, rather than promote the growth of electives, despite student demand for these classes.

Information needed to plan, develop, and make scheduling decisions was often innaccurate or provided late.

The correlation of information regarding existing students, new students, transfer students, faculty availability, and space utilization was often low.

The scheduling of faculty and Institute facilities frequently made student needs unnecessarily subordinate to scheduling convenience.

Extent

3 Folder(s)

Language

English

Additional Description

Overview

Reports and minutes relating to the RIT Special Task Force on Scheduling and Time in Learning. The task force was created in 1972, and was charged with studying and recommending efficiencies for the creation of class schedules and sections, registration procedures, and student learning models.