Division of Biological Sciences

Course Logistics

Scheduling Courses and Classrooms

All undergraduate courses are scheduled through the Biology Student & Instructional Services Office in conjunction with the UCSD Registrar's Office.  Approximately six months prior to the quarter, you will receive an email asking for scheduling preferences.  Preferences are for lecture courses only as all biology labs are previously scheduled.  Faculty teaching a lab course will still receive an email as to the day/time assigned.  In addition, if you have a preference as to when you would like discussion sections scheduled, please be sure to indicate that in the response email.  Biology Student & Instructional Services collects all requests and forwards them to the Registrar's for placement.

Due to high demand of classroom space on campus, courses may be scheduled at non-prime (e.g., unpopular) teaching times.  Prime teaching times are defined as the period between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Your cooperation in selecting non-prime times is greatly appreciated.  Faculty are asked to include at least one non-prime teaching time in their scheduling preferences. Please remember that your request is just that, a request, not a guarantee. 

The Registrar's office utilizes a computerized room assignment program that takes all campus scheduling preferences and randomly assigns space.  If possible, the Registrar's office will try to accommodate requests for specific days/times.

Note: As enrollment occurs, courses may be moved to different rooms to maximize enrollment limits and room capacities.

Standard teaching times are:

MWF                                      TU TH                                    MW or WF

7:00-7:50 am                           8:00-9:20 am                           7:30-8:50 am

8:00-8:50 am                           9:30-10:50 am                         5:00-6:20 pm

9:00-9:50 am                           11:00 am-12:20 pm                 6:00-7:20 pm

10:00-10:50 am                       12:30-1:50 pm                         7:00-8:20 pm

11:00-11:50 am                       2:00-3:20 pm                           8:00-9:20 pm

12:00-12:50 pm                       3:30-4:50 pm

1:00-1:50 pm                           5:00-6:20 pm

2:00-2:50 pm                           6:30-7:50 pm

3:00-3:50 pm                           8:00-9:20 pm

4:00-4:50 pm

5:00 - 5:50 pm

6:00 - 6:50 pm

7:00 - 7:50 pm

8:00 - 8:50 pm

9:00 - 9:50 pm

Alternate Midterms

Some faculty wish to have the midterm(s) for the course outside of regularly scheduled class time.  Per Academic Senate policy, faculty are obliged to have listed in the Schedule of Classes the date and time of any midterm which is to be given outside of the regularly scheduled class hours.  Additionally, any midterm given outside of the regularly scheduled class hours must be announced in a syllabu to the class at the beginning of the quarter.  Students must be aware of the alternate time of the midterm(s) when registering for courses.  Information on how to request alternate exams will be included in the scheduling preferences email.

Overflow Exam Rooms

Faculty sometimes request to have either a larger room, or more than one classroom for midterm(s) and final exams.  All requests must go through Biology Student & Instructional Services.  Please send your request as soon as possible at the beginning of the quarter to bioscheduling@ucsd.edu with the date/time of your exam and the total capacity you would like (either in one room or two or more rooms).  We work with several offices on campus to secure additional rooms, but during some days/times overflow rooms are not available.  Please be advised that we will try to secure the overflow rooms you need, but that not all requests are able to be filled due to lack of classroom space on campus.

Room Scheduling

In general, once the lecture/lab has been scheduled for a course, no changes are allowed.  Students must have current information when enrolling in courses for a particular quarter.  If you need to schedule a review session or if you have any other additional room needs, please send a detailed email to bioscheduling@ucsd.edu.


Enrollment & Add/Drop

Students register for courses midway through the prior quarter (begining 6th week).  Staff in the Biology Student & Instructional Services office can provide you with an estimate of how many students have enrolled for your course.   

Lecture Course

  • For open courses, you may advise students to add your course through WebReg on a first come, first served basis.
  • For waitlisted or "closed" courses, there is an automated waitlist process that will operate through the second week of classes. Students must be on the electronic (WebReg) waitlist. As space becomes available, students will be moved from the waitlist into the class.
  • Students who want to drop your course must do so through WebReg. The deadline to drop without a "W" is the end of the fourth week of classes. The deadline to drop with a "W" is the end of the ninth week of classes.

Lab Courses

Students enroll in lab sections.  Once a section is full, a waitlist is created.  Prior to the quarter, you will download a class waitlist.  The waitlist date/time stamps when a student added onto the waitlist. 

 

Specific information regarding lab enrollment

Process

  • Biology’s waitlist information web page is updated.
  • All lab enrollment limits are at the appropriate levels; the automatic waitlist system will sweep students off of the waitlist into the class in the order they appear on the waitlist.
  • The automatic waitlist system will continue to run (if a student drops the lab course, the next student from the waitlist will automatically be added to that section).  The automated waitlist system runs each night.
  • The quarter will begin and the auto system will stay in place until after the second lab meeting; limits will be set to zero the morning after the second lab meeting to ensure the waitlist sweeps one more time the evening after the first lab meeting.  (for example, if the second lab meeting is on Thursday, we’d set the limit to zero on Friday morning so the last sweep would happen Thursday night)
  • Students should be strongly encouraged to drop the class before the second class meeting if they have no intention of staying enrolled so that other students may be added.  Students must drop themselves; they will not be dropped by the registrar’s office.  If a student drops a lab course after the second meeting, a “W” will be reported for that student. 
  • Instructors will email the class list and waitlist regarding non attendance and receiving an “F”; Mandy Butler will collect and send out common verbiage to instructors. 
  • The process is automated other than Student Services setting the enrollment limits to zero at the appropriate time.  Students no longer need to be preauthorized or emailed regarding enrollment.  Students do not take any action other than being on the waitlist or dropping the course if not interested.
  • This process aligns with the waitlist process for lecture courses (students are use to this process)

Add cards may be used by instructors to fill open slots

  • May not be used until week 3 (after add deadline); must be used only during week 3
  • Correct section/section ID must be indicated on card; Mandy will have add cards available for instructors
  • Students must have been on waitlist and attending
  • Instructor signs completed card and student brings to USIS
  • Expiration date will be put on add card; must be used by end of week 3

 

 

 If you use WebCT, a student on a wait list will still have access until week 3 of the quarter. For specific information regarding WebCT and wait listed students, please visit http://acms.ucsd.edu/units/iwdc/waitlisted.shtml .

Note:  If a student drops a lab course after the end of the second class meeting, a "W" will be reported for that student. 

Concurrent Enrollment (fall, winter, spring only)

Each quarter there are students who wish to enroll in regularly scheduled UCSD classes through University Extension.  These enrollments are referred to as "concurrent enrollments."  Students attempting to enroll via concurrent enrollment are given the lowest priority when adding.  Only during the third week of the quarter, on a space available basis, may these students attempt to add.  Matriculated UCSD students have the first two weeks of the quarter to add.  After the initial two weeks, if there are spaces available, you may sign the concurrent enrollment add card.  The student then brings the card to Biology Student & Instructional Services for a department stamp.  Before any card is stamped, the class enrollment is verified.  There may be a situation where a student has a signed concurrent add card, but based on enrollment limits, the card would not be stamped.  Once the card is signed and stamped, the student takes the card to the Extension Office for enrollment processing.

Prerequisites

Students are expected to have completed all prerequisites prior to enrolling in any biology course.  Please visit the web page for the current listing of prerequisites.  http://www.biology.ucsd.edu/undergrad/Prereqhelp.html

Prerequisites are enforced in all courses and must be taken for a letter grade. 

Transfer Credit: Students who have transferred coursework to UCSD from another university may have taken an equivalent course elsewhere.  The course(s) must be evaluated and on the students record.  If a course has been taken, but for whatever reason is not approximated as equivalent, the student will not have the prerequisite waived, but instead will be referred to Biology Student and Instructional Services (in most cases these students' records from other institutions have already been analyzed and it has been decided that the course they took was not equivalent).

Non-Biology majors: Students in majors other than biology that are interested in enrolling, or that require Biology specific courses (i.e. Biological Anthropology, ESYS, etc.) will not be able to enroll unless they have completed the prerequisite at UCSD or equivalent at another institution (as determined by process used by Biology SIS, not by individual instructors).

Non-UCSD students:  Students who are taking a course at UCSD (e.g. in summer session, exchange student, or through the Community College Cross Enrollment program) may have the prerequisite waived if the the student is adequately prepared (e.g. has had a course elsewhere that appears to be comparable to the prerequisite).  Students in these situations should be directed to Biology Student and Instructional Services.

TritonLink

TritonLink allows faculty and staff to process and report on student and course information such as class rosters and student records.  Instructors may look up individual student records, email the class, and look up enrollment information via TritonLink.  You must have a login and password in order to use certain portions of TritonLink.  Please email help@biomail.ucsd.edu and include your full name (include middle initial), employee ID, phone number, mail code and email to obtain a login and password.

**Please note that passwords are generally given to those instructors who will teach more than one class.  If you are a lecturer hired to teach one course only, you may contact your Faculty Assistant or Biology Student & Instructional Services for any correspondence to the class (e.g., you may forward an email you want sent to the entire class and Student & Instructional Services will pass it along).  Student information and those who have access to it is taken very seriously on this campus.

The quarterly Schedule of Classes is available only on-line at TritonLink.  This is not a password protected area of TritonLink.  You will see a button on the left side of the screen that says "Schedule of Classes".

Perhaps the most important tabs you will look at are "Faculty/Staff" → "Student/Class Info"

There is information such as:

- General information including academic calendars, major/minor codes and the General Catalog

- Detailed information on grades, exams and many other topics

The "Current Students" → "Academics" tab has information on:

- Registration and enrollment information including fees, and the add/drop/change process

- Scheduling (scheduling classes by department and standard teaching times)

- Course information for academic departments

- Policies and procedures (confidentiality of student records, integrity of scholarship, etc.)

The "Current Students" → "Academics" tab also includes convenient links to directories for general information (hours and office phone numbers) for college advisors and department and program advisors.

BioMed & SSH LIbrary - Class Material Reserves

Placing course materials on reserve is a valuable resource for both you and your students.  You may place copies of textbooks, copies of articles and other reference materials "on reserve" for students in your class.  You may also check out books with your university identification card.  (Please note that it is against university policy to check out books for anyone other than yourself, as you are personally and financially responsible for any materials you check out.)

To reserve materials, you will need to fill out an on-line form before the quarter begins.  The form may be found at http://libraries.ucsd.edu/services/reserves-form.html.  For more information on library reserve, please go to http://libraries.ucsd.edu/resources/course-reserves/instructors-guide-for-submitting-reserves-requests.html

Electronic Course Reserves

Electronic Reserves (E-Reserves) allow faculty to post course-related materials on the web, and allow students to access them 24-hours a day.  At no cost to faculty or students, textual materials such as journal articles that are required reading for courses can be displayed on the Libraries' e-reserves web site at http://reserves.ucsd.edu.  All campus libraries offer this service.

Any articles and text documents that can be digitized can be put on Electronic Reserves.  Resources that already exist in digital formats (articles from electronic journals, electronic books, unpublished materials on the web) can also be easily linked into the Electronic Reserves system.

If you would like to place materials on Electronic Reserves, or have specific questions about how to provide access to any course materials, contact the Course Reserves coordinator (Biomedical Library x47092).  Course Reserves-BML specific information http://libraries.ucsd.edu/locations/bml/services/course-reserves-bml.html

Soft Reserves 

Soft Reserves is a not-for-profit campus organization that duplicates and sells course materials to the students at low cost.  You may wish to make available handouts, sample exams, homework and exam solutions, and reference materials.  These may be distributed by Soft Reserves.  Soft Reserves is located in the Old Student Center (next door to Bonner Hall, near the Grove Cafe), and their phone number is 534-6256.

Note that the lead time for reproduction at Soft Reserves may be quite long.  For instance, lab manuals have to be turned in roughly 4 weeks prior to the first day of class.  If you include material that is "copyrighted," the turnover time may take up to !

Soft Reserves often avoids being left with unsold copies by preparing enough copies to satisfy the need of a percentage of the enrollment for a particular course.  If you decide to use this service, you are encouraged to call Soft Reserves on the first day of class to inform them about your actual class size.  This is also recommended for instructors teaching lecture courses in which each student has to use material distributed by Soft Reserves.

AS Lecture Notes 

Associated Students (AS) Lecture Notes provides supplementary lecture notes for many courses.  Notes are taken by a student with previous success in that particular course. AS Lecture Notes will ask you for permission to have a note-taker come to your class.  You are by no means obligated to say yes to such a request.  We recommend that you do not agree to proofread the lecture notes before they are sold.  If so, the additional workload will be considerable.  Make it clear to the students in your class that the notes were produced without your involvement. You can reach AS Lecture Notes at 534-6238.  They are located in the Student Center, First Floor. 

Note taker job description and responsibilities may be found at http://lecturenotes.ucsd.edu/notetaker.php

Textbooks

Desk copies, including copies for TAs, and textbook orders for the UCSD bookstore are arranged by the staff in the Student & Instructional Services office (Pacific Hall 1128, 534-1039).  All textbook orders to the bookstore must be arranged with the Instructional Services Coordinator. 

Textbook information will be requested at the same time as course scheduling.  Faculty are asked to provide the following information:

Book Title

Author

Edition

Publisher

ISBN

Required or Optional

If you have questions regarding textbooks that have been used for a particular course, please contact the Instructional Services Coordinator at 534-1039. 

Web Page/Computer-Aided Instruction http://iwdc.ucsd.edu

If you are interested in creating a web page for your course, it is recommended that you utilize WebCT via the campus IWDC office.  If you would like help creating your own class webpage, Academic Computing & Media Services (ACMS) offers assistance through the Instructional WWW Development Center (IWDC).  The divisional faculty assistant can help update existing course web pages via WebCT.

The Division of Biological Sciences also maintains a web server. Please contact the Biology Computer Services Help Desk (help@biomail.ucsd.edu or 534-6355) and they will set up an account on the web server (www-biology.ucsd.edu).  Please make sure to mention that you want a space for a class; they try to keep class materials in a separate part of the server from ordinary lab, administrative or personal web pages. There is no support from Biology Computer Services for web development. 

Equipment & Media Services

Equipment for course support is available for your use.  Most of the campus classrooms have this type of equipment built in. If you need an overhead projector, computer set up or other equipment you may have your faculty assistant place an order for you, with Media Services. 

For a full description of the services provided by Academic Computing and Media Services, please go to their website at:  http://mediacenter.ucsd.edu/

Please note also that Media Services is available for no-cost consultations and practice set-ups.


Student Response System (Clickers)

http://mediaservices.ucsd.edu/student-response-system

Instructors can evaluate class comprehension or retention of complex material and create an interactive learning experience by polling students using a student response ‘clicker' system. This instantaneous assessment of class comprehension enables instructors to confidently move forward with material or step back and review, closely tailoring the lecture to the students' needs.

Computer Questions/Problems

The Biology Computer Services Help Desk is available to help you Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. at 534-6355 or help@biomail.ucsd.edu with computer or printing problems you may have while serving as an instructor for a divisional course.  Please contact them directly to ensure the quickest response.

Exam Duplication

To reduce costs, exam duplication should be done by using Imprints.  Because the turnaround time is 2 to 3 days, you need to schedule the preparation of your exam carefully.  All duplication of exams will be done via the faculty assistant assigned.  You will be notified prior to the quarter who your support person will be.

http://imprints.ucsd.edu

CAPE (Course and Professor Evaluation)

CAPE serves three populations on campus. Foremost among these are the students who utilize CAPE as a mode of expression and as an invaluable supplement when scheduling classes. CAPE also serves professors by providing them feedback that they can freely access at any time after final grades are distributed. Lastly, CAPE helps administrators gauge the caliber of UCSD's academic environment from a student's perspective and aids them in discerning the qualities demonstrated by potential tenured faculty members.

As of Spring 2010, all CAPE evaluations are done on-line.  Students receive an email with a link designed specifically for that student and a course.  Student should be highly encouraged to take a few minutes to fill out the evaluation.  All evaluations are reviewed by the divisions Education Committee and are taken very seriously.

Tips on Increasing Response Rates:

 1) Continuously remind students to complete the evaluation

 2)  Let students know that their input may impact the future of the course

 3)  Tell students it is helpful to instructors in improving their teaching and the course

 4)  Post a link on your course web site to the CAPE response rates page http://www.cape.ucsd.edu/ratef.asp

 5)  One instructor dropped the lowest exam/quiz score if 90% of the students respond to the CAPE

After each quarter, CAPE emails each department the CAPE comments. Instructors will be emailed the comments and are encouraged to look at the comments so they can obtain immediate feedback on their performances.

Please visit http://www.cape.ucsd.edu for more information.  You may look up statistics on the CAPE website by department, course or instructor.