Printed on: 08/20/2019. Please go to http://policy.umn.edu for the most current version of the Policy or related document.
University of Minnisota  Administrative Policy

Enrolling in Overlapping or Back-to-back Classes: Twin Cities, Crookston, Morris, Rochester

Responsible University Officer(s):
  • Executive Vice President and Provost
Policy Owner(s):
  • Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education
  • Vice Provost and Dean of Graduate Education
Policy contact(s):
  • Susan Van Voorhis
Date Revised:
Dec 22, 2009
Effective Date:
Apr 8, 2009

Policy Statement

Enrolling in overlapping classes is prohibited so students can actually attend the classes in which they enroll. For Twin Cities campus students, back-to-back classes with insufficient travel time may lead them to consistently arrive late or to depart early, which can disrupt a class and cause the student to miss instruction. Students are responsible for planning a schedule that allows enough time for travel between classes. Instructors may accommodate student-scheduling problems but are not required to do so.

  1. Overlapping class times
    1. Classes that have any common meeting time are considered to be overlapping.
    2. Students are not permitted to register for classes that overlap unless they successfully petition for permission to do so.
    3. Petitions for overrides for such conflicts require the approval of all instructors involved. The decision to approve or disapprove such a petition for override is discretionary with each instructor involved, but petitions should be granted only under extenuating circumstances.
  2. Enrollment in back-to-back classes [Twin Cities only]
    1. Students should not enroll in back-to-back classes when (1) the amount of time available for travel is less than 15 minutes (when both are on either the Minneapolis or St. Paul campus), or (2) the amount of time available to travel between two classes (when one is on the Minneapolis campus and the other on the St. Paul campus) is less than 30 minutes.
    2. Petitions for protection from penalties for such conflicts require the approval of all instructors involved and will be approved only under extenuating circumstances. The decision to approve or disapprove such a petition for override is discretionary with each instructor involved.
    3. If the student's petition has not been approved, instructors have the authority to penalize students who consistently arrive late or depart early from a class.

Exclusions

This policy is not applicable to the Duluth campus.

Reason for Policy

Students consistently arriving late for a class or departing early can disrupt the teaching and learning process. Instructors must understand that they may accommodate student-scheduling problems but are not required to do so.

Procedures

There are no procedures associated with this policy.

Forms/Instructions

    OTR024 - Class Time Conflict Approval (electronic)  Located off-site (Restricted Access)

    Appendices

    There are no appendices associated with this policy.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    1. How do students obtain permission to enroll in back-to-back courses?

      Students who wish to enroll in back-to-back courses (or those with overlapping times) must complete the “Course Time Conflict Approval” form. Completing the form requires the signature of both instructors involved in a course time conflict. Without written permission, students will not be allowed to register for courses that are separated by less than one minute or overlap in the time they are offered. Verbal permission will not allow the student to register.

    Contacts

    SubjectContactPhoneEmail
    Primary Contact(s) Susan Van Voorhis 612-624-1111 vanvo002@umn.edu
    Twin Cities Campus Procedures Stacey Tidball 612-626-0075 tidball@umn.edu
    Crookston Campus Jason Tangquist 218-281-8424 jtangqui@crk.umn.edu
    Morris Campus Nate Peterson 320-589-6011 pete2787@umn.edu
    Rochester Campus Diane Douglas 507-258-8008 douglasd@r.umn.edu

    Definitions

    There are no definitions associated with this policy.

    Responsibilities

    There are no specific responsibilities associated with this policy.

    Related Information

    There is no related information associated with this policy.

    History

    Amended:
    December 2009 - Policy now applies to Crookston.
    Effective:
    April 2009
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