The Spring 2026 Course Schedule is expected to be published tomorrow, and CLSS is now unlocked.
Good afternoon,
The Spring 2026 Course Schedule is anticipated to be published at courses.rice.edu on Thursday, October 30. CLSS was also unlocked for the Spring 2026 schedule for further changes.
Classroom Resources
The supply of OTR Scheduled Classrooms for Spring 2026 during the following time blocks has been exhausted:
Days
Times
Monday-Wednesday
2:00pm - 2:50pm
Tuesday-Thursday
9:25am - 10:40am
Tuesday-Thursday
10:50am - 12:05pm
Tuesday-Thursday
1:00pm - 2:15pm
Tuesday-Thursday
2:30pm - 3:45pm
Tuesday-Thursday
4:00pm – 5:15pm
This means you will not be able to move a section requiring an OTR Scheduled Room into any of these time slots or update the room to an OTR Scheduled Room if the section is already scheduled in these time slots. Additionally, you will not be able to create a new section requiring an OTR Scheduled Room in these time slots.
If you already have a section scheduled in any of these time slots, you are unaffected by this restriction. However, if you need to update the schedule for any section or add a new section to meet in any of these time slots, you must supply a Department Controlled Room.
Departments are always encouraged to use standard meeting patterns whenever possible. To view all available options, please visit this page. However, recognizing the current scheduling challenges, we have also identified several non-standard meeting patterns that may provide additional flexibility and greater room availability:
Monday-Wednesday (8:30am – 9:45am)
Monday-Friday (8:30am – 9:45am)
Wednesday-Friday (8:30am – 9:45am)
Monday-Wednesday (12:30pm – 1:45pm)
Monday–Friday (12:30pm – 1:45pm)
Wednesday–Friday (12:30pm – 1:45pm)
Tuesday–Thursday (8:00am – 9:15am)
Departments are encouraged to explore these non-standard meeting patterns when possible to maximize flexibility and classroom utilization.
Scheduling Timeline
You will be in Refine Mode – Publish Phase and will remain there until 11/09.
Only very minor changes to the schedule should be made at this time, although you can still add/delete/cancel sections if needed.
Live registration requests (during the course registration request period) and enrollment counts (once registration requests are processed) are visible in CLSS starting 10/31.
Beginning 10/31 through 11/17, when registration requests exist on a section, no edits are allowed to the instructional method, meeting time, part of term (session), status, or the waitlist. Should you need to change one of these, you will need to contact us to determine the appropriate steps.
Beginning 11/17, when registration exists on a section, no edits are allowed to the instructional method, meeting time, part of term (session), status, or the waitlist. If you need to change one of these, you will need to follow the directions to cancel a section (below):
Email registrar@rice.edu with the request to cancel the course. (If students are to register for another section, please include the information for that new section.)
Once the Office of the Registrar (OTR) receives the request, we will promptly cancel the course, drop the students, and send email notifications to affected students.
If no registration exists, the department may cancel the course directly in CourseLeaf CLSS.
This updated process replaces the previous steps (the department dropping max enrollment to zero, notifying students, and manually canceling the course in CLSS) and is designed to streamline the workflow, ensure consistency across the university, and allow students more time to adjust their schedules and register for alternative courses.
All edited sections will go through the pertinent workflow and will appear in Banner and on courses.rice.edu immediately after all approvals are obtained.
Important Items to Check
Please review any and all enrollment caps on all sections (especially cross-listed courses), whether cross-listed with other departments or UG/GR Equivalents. Many of you added sections that were not cross-listed, and our office cross-listed them for you. We want you to make sure the max enrollment caps are set up the way you want them set up. Some of the caps are a little off because the cross-listing was not taken into consideration when the sections were added. If you do not review the caps, you may have problems during registration (e.g., over or under-enrollment). Because it is not possible for us to know what these caps really should be, it is your responsibility to make sure the caps are correct. Please remember that the LEAD department must notify all cross-listed departments when adding new sections.
Please review any and all requests for room requests. The room assignment process will begin soon, so delaying providing this information may mean your preferences may not be able to be considered.
Upcoming Dates
11/14/2025: Course Registration Request Period closes at 5pm
11/17/2025: Course Registration Request results processed for UG students. Undergraduate Professional (BARCH) / Graduate student registration begins at 5pm
11/19/2025: ADD/DROP begins for undergraduate students at 7am
Need Help / More Information?
For more information about Spring 2026 Course Scheduling, please visit the Spring Semester 2026 Course Scheduling page. The wiki/manual will provide you with the vast majority of what you need to do in CLSS. It can be accessed here.
