Academic Affairs Updates: Guaranteed Schedules—Our Pledge to Our Students
Dear NJCU Community,
Our students’ academic journey is a testament to their resilience, often balanced precariously with work and personal responsibilities—including family care and economic challenges. Course cancellations can create significant setbacks for our students.
Recognizing this, the Office of the Provost is pleased to announce a pilot program for the 2024-25 academic year aimed at dismantling another systemic barrier our students face, and students are confronted with across higher education: cancellation of courses. Effective with the 2024-25 academic year, there will be no mandatory cancellations for low enrollment of course sections with enrolled students.
We respect the investment our students make when they enroll, and in return, we commit to upholding the availability of these courses. We stand firm in this pledge to our students: the classes you have enrolled in will be held as scheduled.
Please make note of the following key points pertaining to the implementation of the pilot:
- The course schedule for 2024-25 has been established, and we will provide the necessary supplemental instruction budget to fulfill this schedule. The cost of adding new sections is expected to be offset by the cancellation of course sections with no enrollment, and Deans should proactively discuss with the Office of the Provost any additional scheduling resources needed that exceed the savings achieved through such offsets.
- We will advocate for prudent management of course sections. If, for example, two low-enrollment asynchronous sections of the same course are scheduled, we will recommend consolidating them. This change will not negatively impact students.
- We will discontinue the use of INFOSILEM Academic for scheduling, enabling us to begin the scheduling process for the 2025-26 academic year earlier. Scheduling workshops organized by meta-major will be available during Summer 2024, facilitated by the Offices of the Registrar and Provost, to create a multi-year, student-centric schedule.
- Future course scheduling will involve an analysis of historical enrollment data. While we are moving away from canceling low-enrolled courses, we will actively determine if scheduling such courses aligns with student needs and interests. Additionally, we will support departments in seeking creative methods to boost enrollment, such as cross-listing and shared curriculum options.
- We will continuously evaluate the impact of these changes on student success and retention, allowing us to refine our approach based on the insights gained.
Furthermore, students are not always aware of schedule changes, and they often become aware too late in the process, without enough time to make critical changes to their course registration. To address this, we are also now requiring department chairs to submit detailed accommodation plans for students impacted by proposed section changes. These plans must demonstrate student agreement and will undergo additional review by both the Deans and the Provost’s Office.
A stable and reliable schedule is crucial for our students' success, and we are determined to provide one.
Should you have any questions, please contact Dr. Donna Breault, Provost, at DBREAULT@njcu.edu, or Dr. Scott O’Connor, Assistant Provost for Academic Programming, at SOConnor@njcu.edu.
Sincerely,
Donna Adair Breault, Ph.D.
Interim Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs
Dr. Scott O’Connor, Assistant Provost
Assistant Provost for Academic Programming
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