As always, over-enrollment of courses rests solidly in the purview of the faculty. However, we are unable to move face-to-face classes to larger spaces.
Faculty should not over-enroll their courses without carefully considering the need to create an equitable learning experience for all students enrolled in the course.
It would not be equitable for some students to take a course in person and others remotely, unless the course was designed with that intent (i.e. as a Mixed Mode course).
While faculty teaching online-only courses can increase caps as they wish, courses with an in-person component (F2F, HYB, MMOD) are more restricted in their options
- Face-to-face components of courses need to abide by the physically-distanced space constraints of the assigned classrooms, studios, and laboratories.
- Faculty teaching Mixed Mode courses could increase the number of remote students, once the classroom capacity is reached, assuming that they are able to retain an equitable learning environment for all students enrolled in the course.
One approach for expanding Hybrid course enrollments is to split the class in half and plan to alternate meetings in person with 50% of the students each time. The students not meeting in person could complete coursework remotely. A decision to take this approach is at the faculty member’s discretion.