Scheduling Policy

In order to serve students throughout New England, the Graduate School of Library and Information Studies offers courses in a variety of locations and formats:

• Face-to-face, at URI campuses in Kingston and Providence and at regional sites in Massachusetts and New Hampshire
• Online with no face to face meetings.
• Online, with one to three face-to-face meetings either in Rhode Island or at remote campuses
• Hybrid, with a balance of online and face-to-face meetings to be determined by the instructor.

GSLIS courses may be scheduled in the fall or spring semester for 13- or 14-week terms, in accordance with the set academic calendar of the University of Rhode Island or of the host campus; or in the summer for 10-week, 5-week, or alternative terms.

The most important considerations in scheduling GSLIS courses and selecting the appropriate mode of delivery for each course should be subject content and convenience and accessibility to students.

According to the URI University Manual, 8.81.80:

The content, textbook, over-all conduct and method of presentation of single section courses shall be the responsibility of the instructor. The administration of multi-section courses shall be determined by departments.

The Manual also specifies, however, that the instructor must give students a syllabus on the first day of class. Combined with the published course schedules, the syllabus implies a contract between instructor and students. Students need reliable advance information about course schedules and modes of delivery.

Therefore, GSLIS policy shall require that:

1. The length of a course cannot be changed from what has been announced. (If, for instance, a faculty member desires to schedule a 5-week course during the fall semester, the dates of the course must be approved and publicized in advance.)
2. The format of a course cannot be changed from what has been announced. (If students registered for a face-to-face course, it cannot be changed to an online course during the semester, or vice versa.)
3. Exceptions to this policy may be made in emergencies. Individual classes within a face-to-face course may be offered online to accommodate weather problems, day-of-the-week switches in the URI academic calendar, holidays, sickness, or other emergencies. Online classes may meet in person if necessary to accommodate ongoing major technical difficulties. Any anticipated use of online should be announced at the first class and reflected on the syllabus.

Approved by the GSLIS faculty on March 3, 2004.