Class and Classroom Policies

Classrooms are a vital component to the University’s academic mission. Over the past few years, the University has begun a more coordinated approach to planning and scheduling classroom space to ensure that they are continually meeting campus needs. The sections below provide important information on planning, scheduling, and using classrooms on the Ann Arbor campus.

Policies & Guidelines

  • Class and Classroom Scheduling Policy [PDF]
    The Office of the Provost, in partnership with the Office of the Registrar, has implemented a class and classroom scheduling policy for the Ann Arbor campus to ensure that both classes and classrooms are scheduled efficiently to support the needs of students, faculty, and the institution as a whole.

Reporting & Systems

  • Classroom Reports
    Several reports are available in the U-M Data Warehouse (Business Objects) to provide more information on how a unit’s scheduling practices align with the campus-wide target goals for for scheduling distribution and seat utilization, as well as other helpful information on utilization, enrollment trends, and other curriculum planning support data.
  • System to Schedule Events in M-Pathways
    The Office of the Provost requires all events that are held in classrooms to be entered or uploaded into M-Pathways. Having this data available in M-Pathways enables real-time scheduling information to be available, facilitates sharing from unit to unit, provides the Provost’s Office more complete utilization data, and supports strategic decisions about the use and need for classrooms in the future.
    Access: Please contact your ITS Unit Liaison (UL) to determine the appropriate access. For assistance in determining your UL, please visit the ITS Unit Liaison Database.
    Training: An e-learning course, step-by-step instructions, and additional documentation are available in My LINC:

    • Search for the term “SAE 115” to locate the Event Scheduling e-training course and documentation for entering events directly into M-Pathways
    • Search for the term “SRL 305” to locate information and documentation on the event upload process (for units that do not use M-Pathways for classroom event scheduling)
  • MClassrooms
    This photo and room characteristics database ties unit-managed M-Pathways room data, classroom photos and 360-degree views, and M-Pathways room calendars into this handy searchable database of campus classrooms. This is a “view only” database of the aforementioned items to aide the U-M community (authentication required) in undesrtanding the overall landscape of campus classrooms. It includes information on the majority but not all campus rooms. Planning & Design

Classroom Space Planning

  • Provost’s Office Role in Classroom Planning
    Units are required to consult with the Provost’s Office when planning to add, remove, or renovate classrooms. Such decisions impact both the unit and the entire campus, and therefore requires the Provost’s Office involvement.
  • Considerations for Planning New General Purpose Classrooms (pdf)
    This document is a resource for units to use when planning new classrooms. It includes information on institutional guiding principles, lessons learned from recent Ann Arbor campus projects, and diagrams and floor plans of common classroom configurations.

For More Information