Every semester, thousands of Iowa State students log onto Workday to build their class schedules. What may seem like a simple process, picking courses and clicking “register”, actually reflects months of behind-the-scenes coordination, software optimization and department-level planning.
According to Suzanne Fisher, assistant director for space and scheduling, classroom assignments across campus start fresh each semester.
“General university classroom assignments are cleared from the courses, and each semester we start fresh with location assignments,” Fisher said. “Courses that are marked as lecture, combination or discussion are ‘optimized’ using software that considers the teaching department’s location preferences.”
For example, math courses are typically placed in or near Carver Hall. Once the automated system finishes assigning rooms, departments can make additional requests based on instructor preferences, teaching styles or technology needs.
Accessibility also plays a key role in final placements, ensuring that students registered with Student Accessibility Services receive accommodations such as ADA-accessible tables or classrooms located near bus routes.
While students begin registering months before classes start, the scheduling process itself begins much earlier.
“Room scheduling planning starts a year in advance of the start of the semester,” Fisher said. “For instance, we are starting to process data for courses in fall 2026 and will begin to optimize course location assignments in December.”
Still, even after the semester begins, the schedule remains flexible. Courses can move to new rooms mid-semester due to instructor requests, accessibility needs or unexpected changes.
Fisher said departments have increasingly opted to reduce class sizes and add more lecture sections, a trend that increases demand for classroom space during the most popular time slots, typically between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.
“Meeting patterns most utilized tend to be Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9:30 to 10:45 a.m. and 11 to 12:20 p.m.,” Fisher said. “But overall, the schedule is balanced during peak hours.”
To manage these high-demand periods, room scheduling works closely with departments to find solutions.
“When a course wants to offer a section during a busy time, we review the resources available and offer them our largest capacity room that they would be able to fill,” Fisher said. “If courses are exceeding expected enrollment and need a larger room, we look for underused rooms and make adjustments.”
Each college across Iowa State has its own unique challenges when it comes to scheduling.
In the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), for example, students often concentrate their classes between Tuesday and Thursday.
“CALS students often structure their schedules so that Tuesdays through Thursdays are class- and lab-heavy days, leaving Mondays and Fridays more open,” Greer Potadle, coordinator of the CALS SMART Steps Program, said. “Many students take only one class on those days while still maintaining a 14-credit load and multiple labs.”
Potadle noted that while course loads vary widely across majors, advisors play a crucial role in helping students balance heavy science sequences like chemistry and biology with other requirements.
The CALS SMART Steps Program provides additional support for students on academic warning, probation or reinstatement, offering individualized coaching on study strategies and time management.
Meanwhile, in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS), flexibility is a defining feature.
“LAS students craft their own unique path to graduation,” Megan Myers, interim associate dean of student success, said. “If a student wants to pair computer science with philosophy or biology with Spanish, we are the college for them.”
Advisors in LAS work with students to design personalized schedules that reflect their academic goals while accommodating the varied time commitments of different disciplines, from three-hour science labs to music ensemble rehearsals.
“LAS offers the flexibility and support that allows students to arrange their general education and minor courses around major courses in any given semester,” Myers said. “Student autonomy is key — they have the final say in what they want their semester to look like.”
As Iowa State continues to grow, room scheduling works closely with large departments each semester to anticipate enrollment shifts and ensure that there are enough course sections and classroom spaces available.
“When departments need more seats, we work with them to offer larger classroom sizes when available or additional course section offering times that work with their enrollment needs,” Fisher said.