Most institutions want a formally approved academic policy, but few have implemented one. What, then, are the steps to put a policy into a practice? Specifically, how can a policy be implemented without cultural and political upheaval? The only effective approach to building a formalized academic scheduling policy is to start with a set of equitable allocation strategies (see earlier posts).

The beauty of an academic scheduling policy is that it formalizes the rules of engagement in an otherwise messy and emotionally charged process. Rooms are no longer allocated exclusively by informal and unwieldy processes – such as the squeaky wheel or “the land grab” (the first department to get a stake in the ground wins). Instead, good policies promote equitable and objective allocation models and take the scheduling office out of the often contentious role of room arbiter.

To do this, a policy must be conceived of and promoted as a way to grow “through” obvious space bottlenecks without the favoritism often present in other models. Equity and objectivity need to be key factors in measuring and enforcing an academic scheduling policy.

Next week, I’ll give specific examples of how policies can be measured and enforced as enrollments and space inventory change.