The chairs of the committees, Howard Foster, associate dean in the School of Management, and Peter Gold, associate dean of the Undergraduate College, briefed members of the FSEC at the group's meeting on April 22 about their panels' ongoing work.

Foster, chair of the University Committee on Classroom Utilization, told senators that block scheduling, in which certain classes routinely are scheduled in a "fixed, coherent way," would prevent schedulers from having "to reinvent the wheel every semester."

It would provide better utilization of rooms and some predictability for departments and students, he added.

For example, two sections of large classes like organic chemistry could be scheduled at the same time. Also, classes that are required for a program of study, like the sciences or management, could be scheduled together.

The committee also is looking into scheduling more classes at times and on days, such as Friday afternoons, that are not heavily used, and examining how some departmental space is used.

"It's OK to have some space within departments, but it's not OK to have it sitting empty," Foster said.

The panel also is pondering technology issues. "How much technology do we need to put into classrooms? Are 26 enough to accommodate the people who need it?" he asked, referring to the conversion last summer of 26 rooms into high-technology classrooms equipped with Internet connection, video projector, VCR, telephone, sound system and external laptop ports.

Gold, chair of the University Committee on Classroom Quality, told FSEC members that his committee's charge is to develop standards of quality for all classrooms on campus and the budget to bring classrooms up to the standards.

"We're not supposed to be dealing with complaints, but they drive the committee," he noted.

For example, complaints about insufficient chalkboards in classrooms used to teach mathematics has prompted work, to be done this summer, to install more linear feet of chalkboards in these classrooms. In addition, carpeting, some of which is 20 years old, is being replaced in classrooms, with all of Knox Hall to be done during the summer.

Both Foster and Gold pointed out that major work needs to be done in classrooms on the South Campus, including rooms in Farber, Cary and the Diefendorf lecture halls that have been identified as some of the worst on either campus.

Some of these rooms are in such poor shape that major renovation work is needed, Gold said, adding that his committee has been charged with developing a rationale for the work.