• Course Design & Preparation
• Course Management
• Course Materials
• Exam Schedules and Information
• Strengthening Your Teaching
• Policy Areas at HKS

Course Design & Preparation

Who is Authorized to Teach at Harvard Kennedy School?

Courses With Single Instructors

The instructor must hold a HKSl instructional appointment. Instructional appointments are at the level of professor (or assistant, associate, adjunct, or visiting professor) or lecturer (or adjunct or visiting lecturer).

If the prospective instructor holds a faculty appointment in another Harvard school, he or she may be given a courtesy appointment (Category E) in the Harvard Kennedy School. View the description of Category E appointments under Jointly Listed Courses.

If the instructor is from another university, they will receive a visiting appointment. Occasionally a doctoral candidate may be given an appointment as Instructor in order to cover an essential course. As with all HKS appointments, instructor appointments must follow the school’s faculty appointment procedures.

Courses With More Than One Instructor

A course taught in a single session can be taught by two or more instructors. This does not apply to a course taught in several sections, each of which has a different instructor. When a course is co-taught by two or more instructors, at least one of them must hold a HKS teaching appointment. Again, the courtesy Category E appointment may be used.

These guidelines should be understood as measures by which the school maintains control over its own curriculum, and therefore over what it is certifying in awarding a degree.

HKS does not offer courses taught by individuals who are not members of any Harvard faculty.

Proposing a New Course

Summary of Course Proposal Process

Only those with a HKS instructional appointment may offer a HKS degree program course.

• Instructor submits course proposal (normally in February of the previous academic year) to Area Chair and Academic Dean.
• Area Chair and Academic Dean approve new course.
• Instructor submits 150-word course description to Assistant Dean for Teaching Support.
• Assistant Dean for Teaching Support assigns a course number and creates internet Catalog Page and hard copy Course Supplement. (NB: Late submissions won’t appear in hard copy.)
• Information Services creates intranet Class Page on line.

Approval

A new course must be approved by the Area Chair for the field in which the course falls, in consultation with the Academic Dean and Associate Academic Dean.

Where to Send Proposals

New course proposals should be sent to the Area Chair, with copies to the Academic Dean, Associate Academic Dean, and Assistant Dean for Teaching Support. Proposals for a course in the upcoming academic year should be submitted to the Area Chair by Feb. 1 of the preceding academic year.

Criteria for Approval

The Area Chair considers the content of the course in light of the following factors:

• Does the course fill a need in the curriculum?
• To what extent does it duplicate other courses that are currently offered?
• What type of students are likely to take the course and what is the likely enrollment?
• Does the course provide an opportunity to build a bridge to another faculty in the University? Or to an intra-University subject area or program?
• How will the course affect the workload of the faculty member?

Process After Approval

The Assistant Dean for Teaching Support assigns a course number, schedules the day/time/room for the course, adds it to the course schedule, and posts the description on the Course Listing.

Before the term starts, Information Technology Services (ITS) will create an Intranet (password protected) Class Page.

The proposal for a new course should include:

• Course title
• Instructor's name
• Course credit
• Semester or module period see Course Scheduling: Process and Issues
• Short course description for the Internet Catalog, 150 words or less
• Somewhat longer description (two pages or less) for the Area Chair and Deans
• Course format (e.g., meets twice weekly for 1.5 hours each time)
• Tentative reading list
• Prerequisites or other special considerations for students taking the course
• Enrollment: caps on enrollment are rare, must be approved by Area Chair and Academic Dean
• Information as to which financial unit will pay for the course

Course Descriptions

The purpose of the description is to give students an idea of what they will learn, how they will learn it, and how they will be graded.   Short descriptions of all HKS courses are published on line on the internet. See below for information that should be included.

The best way to see what makes a good course description is to read through several on the Catalog Pages. It’s also appropriate to ask colleagues to critique your description if you wish. The same descriptions are published in hard copy in Courses and Requirements, usually referred to as the Course Supplement. The online Catalog Pages are regularly updated; the Course Supplement is published annually.

Information to Be Included in the Course Description for Catalog Pages and Course Supplement:

• Course title
• Instructor's name
• Semester
• Course credit
• Short description of the course (150 words or less)
• Prerequisites or other special considerations for students taking the course

Choosing a Semester

In choosing the semester for a new course, the instructor should consider sequencing (if the course has prerequisites), the audience, competing electives, space, or time of day availability.  The Assistant Dean for Teaching Support, or others knowledgeable about enrollment data, can advise faculty but ultimately the semester or module period the course is offered must be approved by the Area Chair and the Academic Dean.

Permission of the Instructor

Using “Permission of the Instructor” must be approved by both the Area Chair and the Academic Dean. This is generally acceptable if the course in question is an integral part of a particular degree program and the instructor wishes to exercise discretion in admitting students who are not part of that program. Permission of Instructor is also permissible when deciding whether to admit non-HKS students. Note, however, that the university in general is opposed to raising “barriers to trade” between different schools. It is not acceptable to use Permission of Instructor as a device to limit enrollment, or to “cherry pick” among different students. If the course is jointly listed and taught at the Kennedy School it must conform to Kennedy School standards regarding Permission of Instructor (approval from both the HKS Area Chair and the HKS Academic Dean).

Course Areas & Numbering System

HKS courses fall into two main categories: methodological and substantive. Methodological courses are “how to …” courses, focusing on the skills – analytical, managerial, and political – that a broad range of public sector situations and positions demand. Substantive courses focus on the salient issues in a particular policy area or institutional arena. The requirements for the MPP degree, for example, reflect the philosophy behind this dichotomy: while the required courses are all methodological, some students must also present the equivalent of a master’s thesis, (the Policy Analysis Exercise for MPP students, or the Second Year Policy Analysis for MPAID students) in which each analyzes a specific real world problem in a substantive policy area and offers recommendations for addressing it.

List of Categories and Number Ranges

Methodological Courses

API: Analysis of Policies and Institutions

100s Economic Analysis
200s Empirical Analysis
300s Modeling and Applications
400s Institutional Analysis and Design
500s Policy Design: Methods and Applications
600s Values in Public Policy
700s Historical Analysis
900s Research Methods

STM: Strategic Management of Public Organizations

100s Organizational Strategy and Implementation
200s Political Management, Negotiation, Management of Political Development
300s Managing Production, Quality, and Innovation
400s Financial Management, Information Systems, Accountability
500s Developing and Motivating Human Resources
700s Comparative Public Management
800s Law and Public Policy

PAL: Political Advocacy and Leadership

100s Leadership and the Mobilization of Public Resources
200s Elective Politics and Political Leadership

Policy Areas and Institutional Arenas

BGP Business and Government Policy
CCJ Crime and Criminal Justice
ENR Environment and Natural Resources
HCP Health Care Policy
HLE Human Resources, Labor, and Education
HUT Housing, Urban Development, and Transportation
ISP International Security and Political Economy
ITF International Trade and Finance
NPS Nonprofit Sector
PAL Political Advocacy and Leadership
PED Political and Economic Development
PPP Press, Politics, and Public Policy
STP Science, Technology, and Public Policy

Numbers within the Policy Areas and Institutional Arenas

100-149 Introductory and survey courses; the introductory course is usually (but not always) the 100 or 110 course: BGP-100, ISP-110, etc.
150-199 Seminars; the 150Y courses are the PAC seminars in which MPPs write their masters’ theses; MPAIDs have similar seminars (SYPA)
200-299 Intermediate and advanced methods and approaches
300-399 Institutional and management approaches
400-499 Comparative courses
500-999 Special topics and workshops

Course Number Suffixes

M (as in STM-105M): Indicates that the course is a module.
Y (as in ENR-150Y): Indicates that the course meets throughout the academic year, but nevertheless earns only one credit. HKS has very few Y courses other than those in which students write their PAEs and SYPAs.
A, B, etc. (as in API-201B): Indicates the section in a multi-section course.

New Course Numbers

Whenever possible a new course is given a number close to existing course numbers on the same general topic. Courses receive only one HKS course number; jointly listed courses have an additional number for each school within the University in which they are offered. E.g, API-112: “Also offered by the Economics Department as Econ 2020a and by the Business School as HBS 4010.” See Jointly Listed Courses for additional information.

Reading and Research Courses (RAR)

These individual reading and research courses are numbered by adding to RAR the supervising instructor’s 3-digit RAR ID number. Thus if Professor John Smith’s RAR ID number is 099, the RARs he supervises are numbered RAR-099. See Reading and Research for additional information.

Course Areas

HKS has always been reluctant to divide its curriculum by creating disciplinary departments or similar organizational units along Faculty of Arts and Sciences lines. The reasoning: effective service in the public interest is inevitably multidisciplinary; therefore the higher the fences between disciplines, the less likely we are to produce good public policy and train good public officials. At the same time, a curriculum as extensive as ours must be managed. Hence the curriculum is divided into five segments called Areas, each chaired by a faculty member.

Area	Area Chair 2007-2008
Management and Leadership	Mary Jo Bane
International Relations, Science, and Security International	Ashton Carter
Democratic Institutions and Politics	Alex Keyssar
Social Policy	Jose Gomez-Ibanez
Markets and Methods	Christopher Avery

Together with Academic Dean, these five Area Chairs are part of the Faculty Steering Committee that advises the Dean on critical management issues for the school. The other faculty members of the Steering Committee are the Associate Academic Dean, Faculty directors of each of the degree programs, the Senior Associate Dean and Director of Degree Programs, the Senior Associate Dean for Executive Education and the Executive Dean and the Representative to the University’s group on Diversity and Faculty Development. The Assistant Academic provides staff support for the Faculty Steering Committee.

Course Credits and Format

The Kennedy School curriculum consists of about 220 courses of assorted types; the critical credit and format information appears in the table below. Click on the course type for additional information.

Course Type	Credit	Course Length	When It Meets	Typical # of Meetings	Class Length	Grading Scale
Standard	1.0	1 Semester	F or S	2 Per Week; 24-26 Meetings	1.5 Hrs	A - E
Module (M)	0.5	0.5 Semester	Fall Pd 1,2 or Spring Pd 3, 4	2 Per Week; 12-13 Meetings	1.5 Hrs	A - E
Seminar (Y)*	1.0	2 Semesters	Yearlong	1 Per Week**	2 to 2.5 Hrs	A - E
Seminar (nonY)	1.0	1 Semester	F or S	1 Per Week; 12-13 Per Semester	2 Hrs	A - E
January Courses	0.5 or 1.0	January	January	18-19.6 Hours for 1.0 Credit; 36-39 Hours for 0.5 Credit	4-8 Hrs	A - E
Reading and Research	1.0	1 Semester	By Appointment with Instructor		NA	Sat/Unsa
Jointly Listed*	1.0	1 Semester	F or S	2 Per Week; 24-26 Meetings	1 to 1.5 Hrs	A - E***
*Jointly listed modules are very rare but not unheard of. **Some seminars meet alternate weeks only; others meet weekly but conclude early in the spring semester. Total meeting hours are usually roughly equivalent to a 1 credit course. ***The grading system for a jointly listed course is that of the school where the course physically takes place. Most Harvard schools us A-E; HBS is an exception.

Credits and Grades from Other Schools

The grading system honors the system of the school in which the course physically takes place. HKS students must always receive a letter grade if this is an option. If this is not an option they receive the non letter grade used by the host school. For credit equivalencies see the Student Handbook.

Standard Course Format

Standard semester length for a HKS course. The semester is normally 13 to 14 weeks long; a module generally 6-7 weeks long. Faculty are expected to be present through the last possible class meeting date in the fall or spring semester.

Standard Format Course Meeting Time

The standard HKS course meets twice a week (Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday), 1.5 hours each time, for a total of three hours per week for the full semester. Satisfactory completion earns one credit toward a degree. Course format is considered part of the course design, and is included in the course approval process. Major changes in course format must be approved by the Course Area Chair.

Modules

A module is a course that meets for one half of a semester in one of the four designated module periods; satisfactory completion earns 0.5 credits toward a degree. Module Periods 1 and 2 are in the fall semester, 3 and 4 in the spring semester. Depending on the calendar, each module is six or seven weeks long.   Modules customarily meet twice a week for 1.5 hours each time. A module may not be stretched out over a semester, nor may it be reduced to a shorter but more intense period within a standard module period.

Two-Hour Courses/Seminars

Two hour seminars meet once a week for a full semester; they earn one course credit. The class is normally small (25 students or less). They are called seminars because the instructor has chosen to run them on that basis, usually to facilitate student discussion of assigned reading or student work in process. Approval of the Course Area Chair and the Academic Dean for this format is required. (Note: three hour seminars are generally not an option. Also, note that the traditional yearlong Harvard seminar meeting for two hours on alternate weeks throughout the year, yielding a major research paper, is not a standard Kennedy School format and exceedingly rare. If offered the student earns 1.0 credit.)

Three-Hour Courses

Courses meeting once a week for three hours are rarely permitted, and then only when the instructor’s primary affiliation is outside of Cambridge. These courses must be approved by the Course Area Chair and the Academic Dean. Three-hour classes disrupt the course schedule by creating course conflicts for students and room assignments; hence they are scheduled only on Fridays after 1:00 p.m. 

“Y”Courses (i.e., courses with a number ending in Y)

Most of the HKS “Y” courses are seminars that support the writing of the required PAEs (Policy Analysis Exercises) and SYPAs (Second Year Policy Analyses) for MPPs and MPAIDs respectively. (Course numbers for these seminars are shown below). Year long courses that do not fall into these two categories are extremely rare.  The written products for PAEs and SYPAs are the HKS equivalent of a master’s thesis, wherein students analyze an actual problem in a particular policy area and provide recommendations for addressing it. During the fall semester the seminars typically meet every Thursday from 4 to 6 p.m. After the Winter break most of them meet less frequently, as students dig in for serious research, analysis, and writing. The whole process – seminar plus paper – earns one course credit toward the degree.

PAC Seminars

BGP-150Y: Business and Government Policy
CCJ-150Y: Crime and Criminal Justice
ENR-150Y: Environment and Natural Resources
HCP-150Y Health Care Policy
HLE-150Y: HumanResources, Labor,and Education
HUT-150Y: Housing, Urban Development, and Transportation
ISP-150Y: International Security and Political Economy
ITF-150Y: Internatioal Trade and Finance
NPS-150Y: Nonprofit Sector
PAL-150Y: Political Advocacy and Leadership
PED-150Y: Political and Economic Development
PPP-150Y: Press, Politics, and Public Policy
STP-150Y: Science, Technology, and Public Policy

SYPA Seminars: PED-250Y

MPA/ID students in their second year right the Second Year Policy Analysis paper. This paper is developed in the course numbered PED-250Y, which is taught in several sections.

Reading and Research Courses (RARs)

RAR courses are independent research courses offered at the discretion of a faculty member, who may accept or reject a student’s request to supervise an RAR. The usual product of an RAR is a major research paper 25-30 pages in length.

Students fill out and file with the Office of the Registrar an RAR petition, a contract between the student and the faculty member outlining the work the student must accomplish to receive a grade. RAR courses are graded pass/fail only (the actual grades are SAT and UNSAT) and customarily earn 1 credit. RAR contracts are identified by the faculty member’s 3-digit R&R number, which may be obtained from the Registar’s Office. The course number that appears on the student’s transcript will be of the form RAR-039. All RARs supervised by the same faculty member, even though they are with different students, receive the same RAR number. Normally the Kennedy School does not offer group RARs; each RAR is an individual contract with the individual student.

Restrictions: A student may not be paid for the research associated with an RAR, nor may it be carried out for the benefit of a particular organization.

Who may supervise an RAR. RARs may be supervised only by a faculty member who holds an appointment as Lecturer or as Assistant , Associate, or full Professor. All others must obtain permission to supervise an RAR from the appropriate LINK Course Area Char and the Associate Academic Dean.

Download Reading and Research Contract

For additional information visit the Office of the Registrar for our Reading and Research Policy.

January Classes

The Kennedy School has offers a handful of intensive courses in January (for 1.0 or 0.5 credit). January courses meet for several hours a day, five or even six days a week. The courses offered thus far have been designed so that they frequently break out into small groups that meet in separate rooms. Because of their intensive format, and especially of their space demands, the number of such courses that can be accommodated is limited. Faculty interested in offering a January course should consult with the relevant Course Area Chair and the Academic Dean.

Jointly Listed Courses

A jointly listed course is one that has both a Kennedy School course number and a course number in one or more of the other Harvard schools. The course may be co-taught by instructors from the participating schools or by an instructor from one school only. It is taught to all of the students who have registered for it, whichever number they have used, in the same classroom at the same time. It may meet at the Kennedy School or elsewhere. Almost all of the jointly listed courses are 1-credit courses.

An Example

Microeconomic Theory II is offered by HKS as API-112, by the Economics Department as Econ 2020b, and by the Business School as HBS 4011.

Avoiding Confusion

Jointly listed courses should not be confused with "cross registration". A course appearing in the course offerings of more than one school is jointly listed. A student from another school, “crossing” the Harvard campus to register for a Kennedy School course using the HKS course number is a cross registered student.

The HKS Process for Jointly Listing a Course

A request for a joint listing may originate with the Kennedy School or with another Harvard school. (Joint listing with a non Harvard course is not an option.) In either case, it must be approved by the Kennedy School Academic Dean and the relevant HKS Area Chair. The request to jointly list a course goes first to the Course Area Chair for a recommendation and then to the Academic Dean. The request must include a memo or email from the non-Kennedy School department head agreeing to jointly list the course. (This is true whether the faculty member is asking to jointly list a Kennedy School course with another department, or if its the other department requesting to list one of their courses with the Kennedy School.) Requests are evaluated on the basis of content (especially policy relevance), course level, feasibility (expense, space, student access, etc.), and benefit to the school more broadly (e.g., bringing other student voices to the classroom, strengthening ties to faculty in other schools).

Who May Teach a Jointly Listed Course (Category E Appointments)

In order to sign the grade sheet for any HKS course, an instructor must have a HKS teaching appointment. This is not a problem when one of the instructors in the joint course is a member of the Kennedy School faculty. When the jointly listed course has only a non-HKS instructor, however, that instructor must be given a HKS faculty appointment. In the Kennedy School, the appointment is a “Category E” appointment, a class of annual appointments that is reserved for this particular use.

In one sense this is little more than a formality; the appointment by the Kennedy School senior faculty is handled by mail. But more broadly it should be understood as a direct measure by which the school maintains control over its own curriculum, and therefore over what it is certifying in awarding a degree.

Administrative Coordination of Jointly Listed Courses

Rules and Regulations

If the course is held at the Kennedy School, the faculty, the course, and the students enrolled in the course must conform to the HKS guidelines regarding course grading, scheduling, enrollment policies, CA/TF allocations, copyright permissions, course materials, course evaluations, exam schedule, etc. (See below for details.) If the course is held at another school it follows the calendar and administrative rules and regulations of that school.

Information Flow

The faculty member is responsible for conveying and confirming all information that must be exchanged among the participating schools. He or she must be sure that the administrations of all schools that list the joint course have all the relevant details for the course. The faculty member must make sure that the catalog copy has been submitted in both places, that it says the same thing in both places, and that all participating schools understand when and where the course is being taught. In short, the HKS faculty member must not rely on the other schools to convey essential information to or from HKS about these details.

Financial Arrangements

The joint listing process implicitly assumes that neither participating school compensates the other school for the use of faculty time. Exceptions are extremely rare and must be approved in advance by the Academic Dean.

Scheduling

A jointly listed course conforms to the scheduling guidelines of the school in which it meets. Faculty who are negotiating a joint listing should keep this in mind, for the variation in academic schedules (especially in class start/end days, and final exams) across Harvard schools is a problem for Kennedy School students.

Enrollment

A prescribed share of spaces must be held for students registering under the HKS number: half the spaces if the course is jointly listed in the Kennedy School and one other school, a third if listed in the Kennedy School and two other schools, etc. Consult with the Kennedy School Registrar on establishing the number of total spaces.

Course Materials

Course materials for jointly listed courses that meet at the HKS are usually distributed through the Course Materials Office and require compliance with federal copyright regulations. Materials for jointly listed courses held at the other school are distributed through that school’s CMO equivalent. (The CMO does not process materials for non HKS courses taught by HKS faculty at other schools.)

Course Evaluations

For the purpose of evaluating its courses the HKS does not use evaluation data derived from other schools’ course evaluation forms. All HKS courses must be evaluated using the HKS evaluation questions. This can mean that students in a jointly listed course will have more than one evaluation to complete for the course (one for each course number). Course evaluations for courses held at the Kennedy School are on line. To participate, students registered under the other school’s number must register for a Kennedy School intranet username and password. See course evaluations [Log in Required].

If the course meets at another school, HKS students will still be asked to go on line to the Kennedy School course evaluation site to evaluate the course under the HKS number.

Grading

The grading system for a jointly listed course follows the system of the school in which the course physically takes place. In most cases all students in the course must be graded on the same scale. Regular courses offered at the Kennedy School award letter grades only; there is no pass/fail option. Only the RAR courses are graded using the pass/fail equivalent, Sat/Unsat. If the joint course meets at another school that offers a choice between pass/fail and a letter grade, Kennedy School students are required to choose the letter grade. If there is no such option they may take the course pass/fail. (See the Registrar’s Office, Information for Faculty,Grading, for information on HKS grading policies.)

Reporting Grades

There is no master enrollment list for a jointly listed course. Rather, the instructor receives a separate class list from the registrar in each school in which the course is jointly listed. Thus for API-112, the Kennedy School Registrar sends the instructor the names of students who enrolled under the HKS number. The FAS Registrar does the same for those enrolled under the Economics number, and the Business School Registrar for those enrolled under the HBS course number. Faculty who are co-teaching a jointly listed course should settle early on who will have custody of the grade sheets; in most cases it will be the instructor from the school where the class physically meets.

Credit Toward a Degree

Each school decides how much credit the students registering under its course number will receive. Students registering under the Kennedy School number receive one credit for a semester long course, one-half credit for a module.

Course Assistants and Teaching Fellows

The general rules for CAs and TFs in jointly listed courses differ slightly from those for strictly HKS courses. See Assigning CAs and TFs for information on the allocation of CAs and TFs to jointly listed courses.

Revising, Dropping or Bracketing a Course

Revising a Course

Course Area Chair approval is required for significant changes in an existing course, including changes in substance, instructors, prerequisites, semester, and meeting format. Faculty wishing to make such changes should submit a written request to the Area Chair, with copy to the Assistant Dean for Teaching Support, detailing the changes.

Revising the Catalog Description for a Course

In early to mid March faculty are sent copies of the current course descriptions (and biographies) for their courses, along with a Course Information Form (CIF).

Instructors edit the descriptions and return them, along with the CIF, to the Office of Teaching Support. No Area Chair approval is needed unless the changes are substantial. If an existing course is to have a different instructor, the new instructor is sent the course description for editing. Only if a faculty member is teaching a new course does he or she have to start from scratch. For that process, see the Proposing a New Course section above.

Dropping a Course

Permission of the Course Area Chair and Academic Dean is required to drop a course that has already been scheduled.

Very Small Enrollments

Sometimes only a few students enroll in a course. Is the course dropped in such a case? Usually a course must have a minimum of five registered students to be offered under the course number. If so few students enroll in a course that the instructor questions even holding the course, he or she needs permission from the Area Chair and Academic Dean to drop the course. Alternatively, the faculty member may choose to sign a Reading and Research (RAR)contract with each of the interested students. Ordinarily the Kennedy School does not offer group RAR courses; each student submits and is graded on a separate contract.

Bracketing a Course

Brackets [ ] around a course title indicate that the course is not currently offered. Bracketing requires the permission of the Area Chair and the Academic Dean. The course description remains in the Catalog Pages only when it is expected that the course will again be offered in the near future. Courses bracketed for two consecutive years are dropped from the Catalog Pages. Many students are here for only one year, and most of the two-year students may take electives only in their second year. Hence the Faculty of Arts and Sciences approach of bracketing in alternate years is inappropriate for the Kennedy School.

Course Scheduling

Course Scheduling in a Nutshell

• March: Instructors submit preferences for next year’s schedule to the Office of Teaching Support
• Mid to late June: Fall and Spring schedules are drafted.
• Early July: Instructors receive a draft of the schedules for comment.
• Mid to late July: Schedules are revised to the extent possible in response to instructors' requests.
• August 1: Fall and Spring schedules are published. Thereafter few changes are permitted.

The Scheduling Process

Course schedules and classrooms are set by the Assistant Dean for Teaching Support. For the current year’s schedule, see Course Schedules. During the first ten days of classes the Assistant Dean for Teaching Support works to swap courses to different rooms if necessary to accommodate student enrollments. After the first ten days of classes, when the schedule has settled down, all classroom reservations are handled by the Scheduling Services Office (5-1366, email room reservations).

Instructors' Input

Drafts for the fall and spring schedules are mailed to faculty in July for their comment; the final schedules, both fall and spring, go on the Internet on August 1. Because of the complexity of the degree program requirements, course sequencing, the number of faculty teaching, their individual schedules, and space constraints, each year the schedule is crafted from scratch. In creating the course schedule the primary concern is to schedule classes so that students may take them in the appropriate sequence. There are no “regular” time slots for any Kennedy School courses. Faculty should not assume that a course will be scheduled in the same time slot on the same days from year to year.

Logistics

Fitting 120 or more courses per semester into such a limited number of time slots and an equally limited number of classrooms is a difficult business. Frequently it is suggested that the scheduling be done by computer. However those who have studied it soon abandoned that idea as they became aware of the multiple constraints that would have to be programmed into the software. Moreover, changes from year to year would require annual reprogramming if computerized.

Course Meeting Times

Classes must meet in the following standard time blocks:

Standard 1.5 Hour Period		Standard 2 Hour Period
Starts Promptly At	Ends Promptly At	Starts Promplty At	Ends Promptly At
8:40	10:00
10:10	11:30
11:40	1:00
1:10	2:30	2:10	4:00
2:40	4:00	2:40	4:30
4:10	5:30	4:10	6:00

Standard Class Periods

The standard class meets for 1.5 hours twice a week. Classes do not begin before 8:40 a.m. and generally do not run past 6:00 p.m. Occasionally classes are scheduled in the evening on a case by case basis. The Kennedy School does not hold weekend classes.

Tuesday/Thursday Classes

Tuesday classes must end by 4:00 to accommodate various faculty meetings that begin at 4:00 p.m. Exceptions may be made on Tuesday for part-time, out of town faculty who do not participate in faculty meetings. On Thursdays most classes are over by 4:00 in order to accommodate the PAC seminars (“XXX-150Y” courses) and the MPAID SYPA seminars, which meet Thursdays at 4:10-5:00. These seminars require nearly all of the rooms, so that effectively no other classes may be scheduled Thursday at 4:10 or 4:40 pm.

Two-hour Seminar Classes

These may be held only after 1:00 p.m. They are usually scheduled on Monday or Wednesday afternoon (2:40-4:30) and on Tuesday or Thursday afternoon (2:10-4:00). To better utilize the Kennedy School classrooms, two-hour courses are matched (e.g., a course that meets Monday 4:10-6:00 is matched with a course that meets Wednesday at 4:10-6:00 in the same room). Scheduling flexibility is very limited, for any two-hour class conflicts with two 1.5 hour time zones, thereby doubling the substantive course conflicts for students. In addition, two-hour courses beginning at 2:10 are least desirable because they take the room off line in the 1-2:30 timeslot on the day they are offered and on the “partner” day. Faculty should consider these conflicts as well as their own personal preferences for meeting times when requesting a time slot for a course.

Three-hour Courses

Courses meeting once a week for three hours are rarely permitted, and then only when the instructor’s primary affiliation is outside of Cambridge. These courses must be approved by the Course Area Chair and the Academic Dean. Three-hour classes disrupt the course schedule by creating course conflicts for students and room assignments; hence they are scheduled only on Fridays after 1:00 p.m.

Friday Classes

With few exceptions, classes are not held on Fridays, which are reserved for review sessions.

Number of Class Meetings in Each Semester

Click on the Academic Calendar Key Dates for Faculty and Staff to see how many meetings each course has if it meets M/W, T, T/Th, etc. in each semester or module period.

Actual Start and End Times for Classes

Classes are scheduled to give students time to move between classrooms (especially between 124 Mt. Auburn Street and the main quadrangle). The times listed in the schedule are the exact times classes are to start and end. Students are expected to be seated in the classroom at the start time. Faculty are expected to begin teaching at the start time. Faculty are expected to cease teaching and students are expected to vacate the room precisely at the end time. Failure to vacate the classroom at the end time leads to all subsequent classes backing up.

Classes Running Over

Faculty should not let their class run over! Even if the start of your class is delayed because the previous class is in overtime, you may not extend your own class to regain the lost time; you must allow the next class to come into the room on schedule. It is your responsibility as a faculty member to end your class on time and to insist that students leave the room promptly. If your after-class discussions occur frequently, establish a regular meeting place for them.
If the class ahead of yours regularly runs over… Dealing with this can be awkward. Try negotiating with the laggard; if this is unsuccessful, consult the Academic Dean.

Rescheduling a Class

Once the draft schedule has been approved by faculty the schedule is considered firm. Faculty are expected to be present for all of their class meetings through to the end of the semester. They may not regularly reschedule individual classes to accommodate changes in their own schedules. If, due to extenuating circumstances, faculty need to be absent for more than one class they must inform the Dean. In rescheduling a class missed by a faculty member, he or she must make sure that the rescheduled class does not present a conflict for any of the students in the course, so that all students can attend the makeup class without penalizing their attendance at any of their other courses.

Switching the Semester in Which a Course is Offered

The Course Area Chair and the Academic Dean must approve the switch of a course from the fall semester to the spring, or vice versa.

Shopping Days

Fall Shopping Schedule

Spring Shopping Schedule

Overview

Throughout the University the entire first week of classes is called Shopping Week. Students literally “shop” for courses they want to take, wandering in and out of regularly scheduled classes. Since this is disruptive, the Kennedy School uses the two days prior to the beginning of term for condensed “Shopping Days.” These mini-meetings of courses provide an opportunity for faculty to disseminate information about how they will run the course, (syllabus, required participation, grading, exams, etc.) and for students to ask questions about the course, which helps them make their course selections. The shopping meeting is merely descriptive of the course as a whole; it is not substantive and does not replace the first regularly scheduled class meeting. Faculty are expected to be present for Shopping Days.

Format

There are two shopping meetings of one half hour's duration during each regular 1.5 hour “time zone.” (1) the first half hour session, (2) a fifteen minute break to allow students to go to another class they are interested in at the same time, (and a new group to come to your class), and (3) then the second shopping meeting. Courses generally shop at the same time slot and in the same room as that where their course will normally meet. Note, however, that since four days of classes and two modules are squeezed into two shopping days, a few courses meet for shopping days at a different time and /or place that regularly scheduled. Two hour courses shop in the same 1.5 hour format as all other courses. Most MPA/ID1 and MPP1 courses do not shop but do hold their first real course meetings during Shopping Days. Period 2 and Period 4 modules DO shop at the beginning of their respective terms.

Shopping Session I		Break	Shopping Session II
Begins	Ends		Begins	Ends
8:40	9:10	9:10-9:25	9:25	9:55
10:10	10:40	10:40-10:55	10:55	11:25
11:40	12:10	12:10-12:25	12:25	12:55
1:10	1:40	1:40-1:55	1:55	2:25
2:40	3:10	3:10-3:25	3:25	3:55
4:10	4:40	4:40-4:55	4:55	5:25
4:40	5:10	5:10-5:25	5:25	5:50

Shopping Days: Suggestions for Faculty

Students are trying to get a sense for what the course and the faculty will be like. Here are a few tips for a successful Shopping meeting:

• If you will be in one of the large classrooms, arrange ahead for a mike.
• Start promptly.
• Don't use up your time talking about administrative details. Instead prepare a one-page handout with the essential information, including the URL for the syllabus. If your course has a CA or TF, and they do not have a conflict with their own shopping schedule, it is helpful if they are on hand to distribute copies of the handout or other materials.
• Focus on what students are looking for:
  • the goals of the course
  • course content
  • level of difficulty and preparation required
  • your expectations re class participation, homework, etc.
  • a sense of your teaching style (a simple 5-minute example is worth a thousand words)
  • impressions as to your accessibility
• Time yourself in advance It is not uncommon for faculty to underestimate how long it will take to say what they plan to say. Your formal presentation should take no more than 15 minutes; leave the remaining 15 minutes for questions.
• Figure out a good wrap up ahead of time.

Classrooms

Classroom Location, Size, and Restrictions

The Littauer, Belfer, Rubenstein, and Taubman buildings are on the main Kennedy School quadrangle; 124 Mt. Auburn Street and the Hauser Center are just minutes away. Classroom capacities are listed below.

Room	Used By	Total Seats	Seats At Table	Seats At Perimeter	Exam Seats
L130	Degree	53			26
L140	Executive	106			53
L150	Executive	81			40
L230	Degree	73			35
L280	Executive	60			30
L330	Degree	10			3
L332	Degree	32			15
L380	Degree	16			8
L382	Degree	32			15
Starr	Degree	165			80/34
Land	Degree	70			35
Wiener	Degree	99			49
T275	Degree	46	24	22	12
T301	Degree	32	18	14	9
T401	Degree	32	18	14	9
Rubenstein (RG-20)	Degree	44			22
124 Mt Auburn/100	Degree	32	16	4	8
124 Mt Auburn/160	Degree	35	20	15	10

Classroom Media/Photograph of Classroom

The Kennedy School’s Studio KSG Media Services web site features information on each room including photos of the space and a list of the media available.

Restrictions on Use of Certain Rooms

L150. Used primarily by Executive Programs. Except for M/W 4:30-6:00, they usually unavailable to degree program classes.

Classrooms Beyond the Courtyard

124 Mt. Auburn: Located across from the Post Office at the corner of Mt. Auburn and University Rd. Entering from the Mt. Auburn entrance, Suite 100 is the first suite on the left; use the double doors to get to the classroom, Room 106. Suite 160 is located past the atrium. At the end of the long hallway turn right; Suite 160 is the first door on the left; the classroom is Room 105. Access to classrooms at 124 Mt. Auburn ends at 6:00 pm.

The Hauser Center: Occasionally the conference room at the Hauser Center is used for classes. The Center is at 5 Bennett St. At the top of the Kennedy School driveway turn left. Cross the walkway that leading to JFK Park (on the left), cut diagonally across the plaza and up the stairs that lead up to the courtyard behind the Charles Hotel. The entrance to the Hauser Center will be on your left.

Classroom Assignments

Classroom reservations are handled differently depending on where we are in the semester. Prior to the semester and through the first ten days of the semester all classroom reservations must go through the Assistant Dean for Teaching Support. After the first ten days of the semester all reservations go directly through the Scheduling Office.

Initial Assignments Prior to the Start of Term

Classroom assignments are handled by the Assistant Dean for Teaching Support. They are based on the previous year’s course enrollment, or (in the case of a new course) on the Assistant Dean’s educated guess. Inevitably there are unpredicted surges and declines enrollment. Hence it is normal for faculty to be asked to switch classrooms during the semester. These changes usually occur during the first week of the semester. On occasion, however, faculty in semester length courses may be asked to change classrooms at the start of Module Period 2 or 4 in order to accommodate the enrollments in the new modules.

Changing a Classroom

During the first ten days of classes there is substantial room swapping as we try to match enrollments to the appropriate size room. To change a room during this time contact the Assistant Dean for Teaching Support. After the first ten days of class contact the Scheduling Office. After the first ten days contact the Scheduling Office to change a classroom.

Reserving Additional Classroom Space During the First Ten Days of Classes in Each Semester

To reserve a classroom for an extra class session or review, you must go through the Assistant Dean for Teaching Support during the first two weeks of classes. Thereafter the Scheduling Services Office handles all classroom reservations.

Classroom Reservations After the First Two Weeks of Classes

After the first ten days of class the Assistant Dean for Teaching Support returns all classroom scheduling to the scheduling office in Facilities (495-1366; email: Room Reservations). To reserve a classroom after the first ten days of class use their on line scheduling program, Report on Available Rooms (ROAR).

To submit a room reservations request first find out which rooms are available by checking Report of Available Rooms (ROAR).

Follow the prompts to reserve the classroom you are interested in. Please allow two business days for turnaround.

Reporting Problems with a Classroom

Which office to call

(There’s a phone in almost every classroom for reporting problems.)

If the door to the classroom is locked

Call Building Services, 5-1306, during normal business hours.

After hours, contact the security guard at 5-1330 for the Littauer, Belfer, and Rubenstein buildings, 6-1730 for the Taubman Building. (Note that 124 Mt. Auburn is not available after normal business hours. You can not access classrooms after 6:00 pm in that building.)

If you have a room scheduled, but another group is already in it

First, politely inform the group you have the room and present your confirmation report. Then, if necessary, contact Scheduling Services for assistance.

If the temperature in the room needs adjusting

During normal business hours, call Building Services, 5-1306, L-G39. After hours, contact the security guard at 5-1330 for the Littauer, Belfer, and Rubenstein buildings, 6-1730 for the Taubman Building. (Note that 124 Mt. Auburn is not available after normal business hours. You cannot access classrooms after 6:00 pm in that building.)

If there is a problem with Audio Visiual equipment

Call StudioKSG at 5-0493

If you need more chalk

Call Building Services, 5-1306, L-G39.

If the blackboards need cleaning

Call Building Services, 5-1306, L-G39.

Reserving a Function Room

At any time during the semester if you need to reserve a function room you work directly with the Scheduling Services Office (phone: 495-1366; email: ksgreservations@harvard.edu) and Report of Available Rooms (ROAR). Do not go through the Assistant Dean for Teaching Support for function room.

Course Listing & Class Pages

Catalog Pages and Class Pages on the Intranet

There are two kinds of “course pages” at the Kennedy School. The Catalog Page, is created automatically by the Office of Teaching Support and is available to anyone on the Internet. The second, the Kennedy School Classroom Page, is created automatically by Information Technology Services and is available only by password on the HKS Intranet.

I. Catalog Pages and Course Listing

Apart from the catalog and schedule information posted by the Assistant Dean for Teaching Support (which may not be edited), the only other item that may be posted to these pages is the syllabus. Faculty are encouraged to post the syllabus.

What you may not post on the Catalog Pages?

Be aware that all information on these pages is instantly available on the World Wide Web. For this reason you should review the syllabus before posting: are there telephone numbers or email addresses on these documents that you would not want available to the public?

Copyrighted course materials may not be posted on the Course Listing pages.

II. Intranet Class Pages

Class Pages are created by Information Technology Services (ITS) for every course. Faculty and their staff assistants use these pages to communicate with students in their courses. They are accessible only by logging into the intranet with one’s user name and password. (Log in using the log in button on the HKS home page; click on "Classes" and then select a course.)

These password-protected pages provide the faculty with many course management tools. Faculty can post announcements and home work assignments, collect homework, initiate quizzes, evaluations, polls, and surveys, hold discussion groups, etc. Many instructors require their students to check the class page daily for updates and announcements. It is particularly useful for providing URLs for current newspaper articles that will be discussed in class.

Who has Access?

Faculty may choose to have the Class Page available only to the students registered in the class, or extend it to specific others – auditors, for example – or to the entire Kennedy School community. Most faculty prefer to limit access, especially if students are encouraged to use the Class Page for an exchange of ideas about the course. The faculty member has editing rights to the page, which can be extended to the faculty assistant or CAs/TFs as desired. Kennedy School students are added automatically to the class lists generated by the Registrar's Office. Cross registered students, auditors, and students registered under the non-HKS number in the case of jointly listed courses must request a "cross registered student" Intranet account and must be approved by the faculty or the faculty assistant.

Access and On-line Course Evaluations

Access to the on-line course evaluation is via the Class Page. Faculty are encouraged to ask cross registrants to apply for access early in the course so that, ultimately, they will be able to access the on-line course evaluations, which are open only to people with access to the Class Page.

The Class Page includes:

• Announcements page – class wide announcement
• Assignments – post and pick up assignments for/from students
• Discussion – on line discussion area for your class
• On-Line Materials – folder for electroic documents and Ebsco searches
• Syllabus – link to the syllabus (which, when posted on the Class Page also shows up on the Internet Catalog Page)
• Class List and Picturebook – list of students with their picture, once the student section is populated by the Registrar’s office. The list will not include auditors nor students registered under the non-HKS number in jointly listed courses. Note that this will include pictures of Kennedy School students only. For pictures of cross registered students see below.
• Administration Module – See only by the faculty and those CAs or TFs granted rights. Used for setting up the class. Features include:
  • Participation: for selecting the level of participation e.g., read only, only the students in the class, or full access to anyone with a HKS account); Approver: person who has rights to make all edits and is the contact person for ITS (usually the faculty assistant);
  • Assistants: those who have editing rights;
  • Students: list of those who should have access to the class page (also creates the email group and picture book for the class).

What you may not post on the HKS Class Page

Copyrighted course materials may not be posted on the Intranet Class Page unless the instructor has received advance permission from the copyright owner, obtained through the Kennedy School Copyright Office (CMO).

The Family Educational Right and Privacy Act (the Buckley Amendment) prohibits posting grades either by student name or ID number. For additional information visit the Office of the Registrar web site.

Student phone numbers. Some students may not have given permission to have their phone numbers published in the Student Directory. Hence you should not post student phone numbers without individual student permission.

Click here for More information about Class Pages.

Course Materials / Syllabus / Student Workload

Course Materials

The Course Materials Office (CMO) is a service provided by the Kennedy School for the production and distribution of course materials to students. The CMO is located in Belfer G-6. For complete details about the course packet production and distritution process, copyright regulations, handouts, etc, visit the Course Materials Office.

The CMO also handles the Copyright Permissions for the material it distributes for HKS courses. The materials are distributed either directly in the form of Course Packets or indirectly through Classroom Handouts. Please note that the CMO does not process copyright approvals or packets for courses that do not carry a Kennedy School course number. Faculty teaching at other Harvard departments or at the Extension School must arrange for copyright permissions and course packet production through those departments.

Copyright Permissions

Harvard is serious about complying with the US copyright laws. The Course Materials Office will not photocopy copyrighted materials without explicit written permission from the copyright owner. The Copyright Service Center (CSC) of the CMO handles the permissions end of the CMO's operations. Permissions seeking is a complex and time-consuming process; even if the instructor has used the material before, a new permission is required for each semester (and each course) in which an item is used.

Copyright permissions for Class Pages and PDFs

You may not post copyright protected materials on your Class Page without explicit permission from the copyright owner. The standard CMO letters to publishers request permission to xerographically reproduce their materials. To request permission to post pdfs of those readings (an entirely different form of distribution), the CMO must send a separate letter specifically requesting permission to post.

Speeding up the permissions process

If your course is using substantially the same materials as the previous year you can take advantage of the Course History feature in Request 3.0, which will expedite the copyright permissions process for the current semester.

Syllabus

Syllabus Due Dates

The actual date changes depending on the calendar year, but generally speaking the due dates are:

• Fall courses, including those in module period 2: not later than August 4
• Spring courses, including those in module period 4: not later than December 4

Syllabus Format

Students have commented that syllabi are easier to read if certain standard information appears in the same place at the top of each syllabus. The following standard format for introductory information is recommended. The course number and title should be prominent and centered.

John F. Kennedy School of Government
API-105B/GSD 5203
Applied Economic Analysis
Fall 2007
Instructor: Professor Jose A Gomez-Ibanez
HKS Office: Littauer 106 (5-1341)
GSD Office: Gund Hall 307 (5-1341)
(Text of syllabus...)

Core Information

While syllabi may vary greatly in form, they usually include the following specific items:

• HKS course number, course title, and instructor; must be clearly displayed at the top.
• Instructor's contact information (office location, phone, fax, email).
• Instructor's staff assistant (name and contact information).
• Overview of the goals of the course.
• Audience for which the course is intended.
• Requirements students are expected to meet (class attendance and participation, readings, papers and/or problem sets, group exercises, exams, etc.
• Due dates for midterm exams, finals, and major written exercises.
• Statement on how students will be graded (exams, class participation, papers, problem sets, projects, etc., and percentages for each).
• Course outline, day by day or week by week. This usually includes the readings for the particular day or week, and may also include study questions for which students will be responsible on a particular day.
• URLs for course materials that are available on line.
• Indication as to use of classroom handouts in addition to course packets. (Students are billed for classroom handouts, excluding syllabi and exams, and have asked that the syllabus make clear whether or not the class will use classroom handouts.)

Posting the Syllabus on the Web

Faculty are encouraged to post their syllabus on the Intranet Class Pages, which automatically makes the syllabus appear at the top of the Internet Catalog Page . This enables students from outside the HKS, who may be considering cross registering into the course to view the syllabus. For instructions on creating a Course page or Catalogue page click here.

To enter the syllabus for a particular course, logon to the HKS Intranet and click on the Classes button at the top of the screen. You will see links to the Syllabus as well as Catalog pages for your classes. Click on the upload button for each class and browse to the syllabus file in either MS Word or PDF format. Click on the Save button at the bottom of the screen. A link to the syllabus will appear on the catalog page in approximately 24 hours. Word documents will be converted to PDF format automatically. To edit a syllabus after it has been posted, simply upload a new version.

If you do not see the correct courses when you logon to the Intranet, or for more information, email Aileen Grunder in IT services, and she will give you access.

Your syllabi will also automatically appear on the HKS Catalog Pages as well as the HKS class wesites when they become active at the start of the semester.

To access an archive of previous HKS course syllabi visit click here.

Feasible Student Workload

How much work should faculty assign?

HKS courses vary widely in both the type of assignment (problem sets, memos, papers) and the type of course (quantitative/nonquantitative, lecture/case based, etc.). Bear in mind the overall workload for students – all students at the HKS are taking at least four courses per semester, and many are taking five. All courses will have either a final exam, a final paper, or a take-home exam. In addition many of the quantitative courses also have midterm exams. Nonquantitative courses frequently have short papers or memos during the term.

Courses where the workload is quantitative

With quantitative courses, there is typically notably less reading; instead students are expected to work on problems. Courses such as API-101, 105, 109, 210 etc. generally assign anywhere from five to ten problem sets per semester. A few courses assign shorter problem sets, but more of them, with a set due more often. Thus the time it takes to complete a problem set can vary. Those courses with 5 to 10 sets a semester might require 6 to 8 hours per problem set for the average student. The courses that assign problem sets every week would naturally require less time for each. Moreover, the time an individual student requires will vary depending on previous exposure to the material.

Courses where the workload is primarily preparing cases

Translating case preparation into hours required is difficult because how long it takes to prepare a case again depends so heavily on a student's previous training. In case based courses students may be required to read and prepare the case as well as to read other materials in support of the case. Usually, however, in courses taught by the case method, the actual reading load is less but the preparation for active participation in class discussion and the thinking-hard-about-the-issues load much heavier.

Courses where the workload consists primarily of reading

The amount of reading assigned depends in large part on the subject matter. In general, 100 to a maximum of 150 pages a week is normal, but keep in mind that 100 pages of (say) political philosophy may be more dense and difficult than 100 pages of more narrative material. If each course assigned 150 pages of reading a week students would be faced with up to 750 pages per week. We know from students that this is more than they can reasonably accomplish. Students appreciate an emphasis on the most important readings rather than the quantity of readings. Some faculty recommend about 35-40 pages of reading preparation for each class meeting, with 40 pages being the maximum.

In all varieties of courses, students appreciate a distinction between "required" and "optional" readings. Optional readings should be put in a separate course packet so that students have the choice about whether or not to purchase them. Textbooks should also be identified as "required" or "optional." Ordinarily any reading on the "required" list should be discussed in class. Students are unhappy if they have been asked to purchase and read materials that are never touched upon.

One faculty member's rule of thumb. Don't assign more than 12 hours of work outside of class. Competing for students' attention by assigning more and more work is usually counterproductive.