BACKGROUND

While various pedagogical decisions (including instructional modality, assessment formats, etc.) are best handled at the instructor/department or school/college levels, it is essential for the efficient use of physical, fiscal, and personnel resources that certain academic operational baselines be established by the Provost.  One such operational baseline relates to Minimum Class Enrollments.  Left unchecked, low class enrollments lead to financial and space inefficiencies, as well as significant workload disparities among faculty.

PURPOSE

To provide minimum class size enrollments below which classes will not ordinarily be offered.

APPLIES TO

This policy applies to all courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels with the exception of the following: Directed Research/Thesis Courses, First Year Experience (FYE) Courses, Honors Courses, Independent Study Courses, Internship/Clinical Field Placement Courses, Individual Music Instruction, Learning Community Seminars, and Studio Courses.

DEFINITIONS

Cross-Listed Courses: A cross-listed course is offered under multiple departments or disciplines but  is essentially the same course. This allows students from different programs to take the same course concurrently and receive credit under their respective majors.

Concurrent Courses: Concurrent Courses are distinct courses that are scheduled to meet at the same time and place, taught by the same instructor, but with different expectations and requirements tailored to each course. Each course maintains its own unique course code, curriculum, objectives, and requirements. Students enrolled in Concurrent Courses may be pursuing different academic outcomes, and while they participate in the same sessions, their assignments, expectations, and assessments are aligned with the specific course for which they are registered.

Minimum Class Enrollment: The student enrollment number necessary for a course section to be offered.

POLICY STATEMENT

Sections of courses that do not meet the established enrollment minimums are subject to cancellation.  Unit heads must consult with academic advisors to discuss the possible impacts of class cancellations on students’ progression toward graduation. To be offered, any class subject to cancellation must formally request an exemption and obtain approval from the relevant dean (or deans in the case of cross-school/college Cross-Listed Courses).

Undergraduate classes not meeting enrollment minimums, and that have not received approved exemptions, must be cancelled at least one month prior to the start of the class (or converted to off load). Graduate classes not meeting enrollment minimums, and that have not received approved exemptions, must be cancelled at least one week prior to the start of the class (or converted to off load). Once a decision to cancel a class has been finalized, it is the responsibility of the department (in collaboration with the school/college) to ensure that the Registrar’s Office has been informed and that the cancellation is communicated to students, their respective advisors, and other departments that might be affected.

The Dean of School/College may develop class size minimums that exceed the minimums outlined in this policy.

I. Authority to cancel classes

The authority to cancel a class not meeting enrollment minimums rests with the department in which the faculty has a primary appointment (though that authority also extends to the Dean and Provost Offices). The Department Head shall consult with the Dean when making a cancellation decision, and the impact of cancellation on students’ progress toward graduation must be considered in the process.

II. Class size enrollment minimums and course cancellations

 Class sections failing to meet the requisite minimum enrollment size must be cancelled unless they are granted an exception. In addition, when a large class is subdivided into multiple recitation sections, low-enrollment sections should be cancelled provided that sufficient seats are available in other sections to accommodate the total course enrollment.

Exceptions to this policy must be approved in advance by the respective Dean’s office, in consultation with the Provost (or Provost’s designee).

A. Traditional, face-to-face lecture courses offered in the Fall and Spring semesters

B. Distributed learning or online lecture courses, hybrid or other modality courses

Departments should conduct ongoing assessments and evaluations considering the unique characteristics of online education and the need for effective and engaging online learning experiences for students. The optimal class size for online, hybrid, or other modality courses can vary widely depending on the program and course-specific learning goals, the technology and support available, and the pedagogical approach. Factors such as the complexity of the subject matter, the availability of online resources, and the capacity of the online learning platform should all be considered when determining class size.

Minimum enrollment standards for distributed learning or online lecture courses offered during the fall, spring, winter, and summer are:

Refer to the Guidelines for Online Course Development and Enrollment for additional information.

C. Writing (W) courses

Writing (W) courses have caps established by the University Senate, that may in certain cases, fall below the class size minimums defined in this policy.  In those cases, sections of writing courses whose enrollment falls below 3 seats under the University Senate established cap must be cancelled.

D. Cross-Listed or Concurrent Courses

Any Cross-Listed or Concurrent Courses that collectively do not meet minimum enrollment standards must be cancelled.  When Cross-Listed or Concurrent Courses straddle multiple courses levels, the highest  class size minimums across the courses should be used (e.g., if a 5000-level course is Cross-Listed with a 4000-level course, the class size minimum for the 4000-level courses should be used as the total minimum enrollment necessary for the course).

E. Team taught courses

Class size minimum enrollment standards outlined in this policy are defined on a “per instructor” basis. Team taught courses must enroll enough students to meet minimum enrollment requirements for all instructors of record who are receiving full teaching load credit.

Team taught courses that do not meet the minimum enrollment standards from all instructors of record must either be 1) cancelled, 2) changed to single-instructor courses (assuming they meet the single instructor enrollment standards), 3) taught by the additional instructors as uncompensated overload, or 4) left as multiple instructor courses, but where the total teaching load credit granted across all instructors sums to one (e.g., two instructors teaching a 1000 level course with 30 students should each receive 50% teaching load credit).

III. Exceptions to the minimum class size enrollment standards

The following can be used as justifications for exceptions to the minimum class size enrollment standards.

1. Cancellation of the class would likely delay or impede the enrolled students from making sufficient progress to their degree, and other alternative classes or arrangements are demonstrably not possible.
2. The course is a program-of-study requirement and is part of the sequence that cannot be altered without disrupting subsequent courses in the sequence and delaying graduation for a cohort.
3. Class size is limited by documented accreditation requirements or state licensing standards.
4. The class section is Cross-Listed with other courses taught by the same faculty member at the same time/location, and the total registration meets or exceeds the required minimum class size enrollment number.
5. The class section is voluntarily offered by the faculty member in excess of their teaching load and the faculty is not receiving additional compensation.
6. The class is an experimental section of a new course offered for the first time to permit the faculty to refine the course design or pedagogical practices.
7. The course is specialized and in an undergraduate or graduate degree program that meets an essential workforce need in Connecticut.
8. The course enrollment is limited by the University Senate due to well-established pedagogical best practices.
9. The need for specialized physical facilities (laboratory, studio, etc.) and/or equipment limits the size of the class.
10. The Dean of the School/College, in consultation with, and approval of, the Provost, determines that other special circumstances warrant maintaining the class section.

IV. Adjustments to faculty/instructor teaching assignments

Faculty/instructors must be notified (typically in their offer letters) about

1. The possibility of class cancellations if a class does not meet the established class size standards, and
2. Possible changes in teaching assignments that result from such cancellations.

Adjustments to a faculty/instructor workload or teaching assignments should be done in consultation with the faculty member.

ENFORCEMENT

Violations of this policy and any related procedures may result in appropriate disciplinary measures in accordance with University By-Laws, General Rules of Conduct for All University Employees, applicable collective bargaining agreements, and the University of Connecticut Student Code.

PROCEDURES/FORMS

The following documents may be accessed from the Academic Affairs Governance Document Library.

• Guidelines for Managing Course Enrollments
• Guidelines for Online Course Development and Enrollment

POLICY HISTORY

Policy created: 11/17/2025 (Approved by Senior Policy Council)