The University Registrar’s Office assigns classrooms for most courses in Yale College. Before the beginning of each term, the departmental registrar or director of undergraduate studies for each department needs to correct or update course information in the Courseleaf WEN system with changes in time pattern, instructor, etc. This information forms the basis for the assignment of classrooms by the University Registrar’s Office.

Once course offerings are established for each term, the Registrar’s Office will assign classrooms to courses that do not have rooms preassigned by their departments. Instructors with any special classroom requirements (audiovisual equipment, access for disabled students, demonstration equipment, etc.) should inform the departmental registrar well in advance of the beginning of classes so he or she can notify the Registrar’s Office. The Registrar’s Office is not able to accommodate specific building or room requests except for disability or temporary impairment needs registered with the University’s Accommodation Program offered by the Office of Institutional Equity & Accessibility. Registering with the Accommodation Program is a simple process. For further information, please contact Susan Noack. The Registrar’s Office will also do its best to accommodate specific pedagogical needs such as requests for specific technology or room layouts. It is recommended that such pedagogical requests be made at least six weeks prior to the beginning of each term. Only requests submitted through the Pedagogical Needs Request Form will be accepted. 

Classroom assignments will appear in Yale Course Search (YCS) no later than one week before the beginning of classes each term. The Registrar’s Office places courses in rooms based on enrollment history, enrollment estimates provided by faculty or departments, and other available information. Because student attendance during the add/drop period can fluctuate greatly, it is the general policy that room changes cannot take place until after the add/drop period has ended unless a reasonable case is made for an immediate change. Requests to change a room after assignments have been posted should be made using the Room Assignment Change Request Form.

If a course has discussion sections, classroom assignments are made on a rolling basis. Discussion sections routinely meet in fifty-minute periods. Bear in mind that the most popular hours for discussion sections—early afternoons on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and Friday mornings—are also the most difficult to accommodate with suitable classrooms.