University of Idaho Faculty Senate votes to stop classroom conversion

The University of Idaho Faculty Senate voted Tuesday to request a moratorium on the conversion of classrooms to non-instructional purposes.

The request is based upon a classroom shortage only recently discovered by Kenton Bird, director of general education, when working with the Registrar’s Office to schedule rooms for upcoming classes.

“I kept getting messages back,” he said. “ ‘We have a classroom shortage.’ ”

Bird said upon looking into the issue, he was surprised to find the university had lost 46 classrooms to other purposes since 2008.

“Our net loss is 1,416 seats,” he said.

Bird said some of the classrooms have been changed to administrative offices, while others have become department-controlled classrooms – which show up as unavailable when trying to schedule them for use.

“As we look forward to growing enrollment, we are going to need more classroom space,” he said.

Heather Chermak, registrar at the UI, said when classroom changes go through her office, there is no loss of seats.

“When the Registrar’s Office gets involved we try to swap a room for a room,” she said.

That is not always the case though, as classroom changes are often done within departments, other offices, or simply taken over for administrative offices.

Chermak said the registrar’s office rarely knows what departmental classrooms are being used for or if they are even being used.

“It’s been that way for a very long time,” she said.

Plus, departments are not required to answer her if she asks.

Chermak said the registrar’s office is looking into the matter,

“We’re doing some modeling and looking at the future, what sort of space we’re looking for in the future,” she said.

Documentation provided in the faculty senate meeting packet listed 52 rooms in various university buildings lost since 2008, and their current uses, as well as six rooms gained in the same time period.

According to the spreadsheet, 19 have become departmental rooms, whether for classrooms, offices or other purposes, 10 have become office space and numerous others do not have current uses listed.

The resolution will next be sent to John Wiencek, provost and executive vice president, and Dan Ewart, vice president for infrastructure, with the request for a moratorium to stop the conversion of classrooms to non-instructional purposes until the space removed can be replaced in comparable configurations.