Since 2014, I have played a key role in the scheduling team of the Communication Design Department. I led the maintenance of the course schedule from 2012 to 2018 and resumed this role in 2021, continuing to the present day. In addition to managing the department’s schedule, I introduced the Associate Cohort program and the Junior Offering Plan.
The Associate Cohorts are an organizational system for the associate program in the Communication Design Department. They offer a structured sequence of required courses leading to an associate degree and readiness for the baccalaureate portion of our NASAD-accredited program. These courses are designed to be taken as a cohort group, promoting peer mentorship and simplifying the scheduling process. The cohorts are structured to accommodate different student needs with morning, late morning, and afternoon/evening options, ensuring timely program completion while considering ASAP and financial aid requirements.
I established three cohorts: MTh (Monday through Thursday mornings), TuF (Tuesday through Friday late mornings), and the PM cohort, which includes afternoon and evening classes. Although students have the flexibility to opt out of courses that don’t fit their schedules, we’ve found that those who remain in their chosen cohorts tend to have better outcomes and stronger peer connections. The provided grid illustrates the first-semester schedules for all three cohorts. This organization extends across all four semesters of the Associate degree’s foundation program.
I also took the lead in proposing, designing, and implementing the Junior Course Offering Plan for the Bachelor of Fine Arts program. This plan was developed for each of the five department concentrations to help students complete their Skills and Strategy course requirements and optimize their success in the program’s capstone courses. The plan considered factors like students’ and faculty’s availability, facility usage, and equipment distribution.
The rationale behind this plan was to address the issue of COMD students entering their senior year with their requirements out of sequence, making it challenging for them to navigate their capstone courses, Senior Project and Portfolio. To resolve this, I created an offering plan that alternated Skills and Strategy courses, allowing students to cross-reference one course with another. The scheduling also ensured the correct sequence with minimal course cancellations. As of Fall 2023, almost all junior year courses are either at full capacity or have an enrollment exceeding 85%.
The provided document outlines the course offerings for the five concentrations: Advertising, Graphic Design, Illustration, Motion, and Web.
Forward from Spring 2023, I trained a junior faculty member to take on the role I once had. The faculty member can now work with the scheduling software, CourseDog, and, from the groundwork I laid out, will be able to seamlessly interconnect the semesters, streamlining what was once an onerous endeavor.
