READ FIRST: How to get your upcoming class question answered

[tanouye]

For those of you who have questions about scheduling for upcoming classes, here are some pointers for getting a helpful response:

Ask about specific date/times and levels. The calendar is too big for me to provide a schedule of ALL upcoming courses. But I can pretty easily tell you when a specific class is scheduled to end and whether the same class will be offered then. For example:

Specific - "When does the next section of the Thursday night 201 course start?"
That's a question I could answer quickly and easily. (To find out what courses currently exist, check this page: http://newyork.ucbtrainingcenter.com/courses/calendar You can see the in-session classes on the left and the upcoming courses on the right.)

Vague - "Are there going to be any 201s starting up soon?"
Probably, but I'm not able to compile a list of all of them. Also, some are starting soon but sold out. Others might not fit your schedule. I'll probably just tell you to check the website.

Added Note: I can only answer about two timeslots or so at a time because I am flipping through my calendar and checking on the schedule, then remembering the answers and posting them here. If you ask for more than two, I will probably have to start writing things down and then it becomes a project that takes up too much time.

Make your subject specific, too. This will help other people. If you're asking about a Thursday night 201 course, call your post "Upcoming Thursday night 201 schedule" or something like that. That way someone else with the same question can read it. Don't call it "201 Question" because that's vague.

Don't send me a private message unless it's a personal matter. If it's just a question about class scheduling, please post it here in case other people have the same question. But do feel free to send a private message if it's something you don't want to share with the entire message boards.


Also, feel free to apply the above guidelines to your improv scene work and your sketches.

[tanouye]

Also, please start a new thread if you ask a new question about upcoming classes, rather than posting it as a reply to an earlier question/thread. It will be more helpful for everyone that way!

[msmatin]

Vague - "Are there going to be any 201s starting up soon?"
Probably, but I'm not able to compile a list of all of them. Also, some are starting soon but sold out.

How do the classes get sold out before they get posted?

[tanouye]

They're not sold out before posting, but there's a difference between "When does the next class go online?" and "When does the next class start?"

The next class might start in a week, but be sold out. Generally, classes go online one or two months before they star but sell out in a week or two.

[msmatin]

Ah I see. The question indeed was vague... in so many ways.

[tanouye]

Some more pointers as this board becomes more popular.

Please start a new thread for new questions and give it a specific subject line
If we're talking about Wednesday afternoon 401 classes, don't reply to that thread and ask about Thursday night 401s. This board will only be useful if other students with similar questions can find the answers I've already posted. If I start answering the same question too many times I'll become too busy to respond here.

Don't ask when classes are going online.
Sorry! I can sometimes give a ballpark estimate, but it's generally dependent on me confirming the schedule with the teacher (which takes some back and forth) and so your best bet is to check in every week and see which classes are going online anyway in the "Classes going online Wednesday [DATE]" thread.
You CAN ask what time classes are going online for a given week. Just don't ask what week a class is going online. At this point, because of spring and summer scheduling issues, I can't say in advance what weeks a class will go online. I can only estimate when the next class will start.

I have less information about electives and classes only taught by one teacher.
I generally try to maintain a consistent number of core classes (Improv 101-401, Sketch 101-201) so even if a teacher has to change their own schedule, I know approximately what I'll be offering. But for classes like Improv 101 for Actors, Musical Improv, and Storytelling, it all depends on when the specific teacher is available. I'll try my best to answer, but usually I don't know for certain until it's actually scheduled on paper, at which point I'll announce it in the "Classes Going Online" thread anyway.

[tanouye]

Please see if your question has already been asked!

If I start seeing the same question over and over, I will start ignoring it. So see if someone has already asked the same question as you. (And, again, make sure you label your subject specifically so future students can find it. You are probably not the only person who wants to know.)

Don't ask about more than two slots.

I will just start ignoring requests that are too vague or complicated. I answer these questions by looking at the calendar and checking on upcoming classes. If I can't keep track of your request in my head, I won't answer it. Trying to make notes on five different upcoming class requests will turn this into too much of a time commitment.

Depending on the time of day, I might not answer your question.

Strange, I know. But sometimes I check in from home and will answer general questions. Usually, I can only tell you scheduling information if I'm at the office. So if you see that I answered two open questions late at night but didn't answer yours, it's not that I'm ignoring you, it's probably because I didn't have that info in front of me.

[tanouye]

Seriously. If your Subject line is not specific, I won't answer your question!

These boards are only useful if other students can find answers to questions that have already been asked. If I have to answer the same question multiple times, then I don't save any time for myself. PUT THE DAY, TIME, AND LEVEL YOU'RE ASKING ABOUT IN YOUR SUBJECT.

And! Check if your question has already been asked and answered recently.

If you're asking about Wednesday morning 401s, check to see if there's a thread called "401 Wednesday classes." DON'T JUST ASK A QUESTION WITHOUT READING ANY OTHER THREADS LIKE YOU'RE THE ONLY PERSON WHO MATTERS IN THE WORLD.

Don't be a jerk.

This is a community type forum. Try to help each other out and answer each other's questions if you can. You might not know the upcoming class schedule, but you can answer questions along the lines of "What's this class like?" or "What should I do in this case?"

Thanks!

[tanouye]

Threads with vague subject lines will now be ignored

As I've mentioned before, this board is only useful if it saves me from having to answer the same question multiple times. If you want to know about Monday night sketch 101 classes, call your subject "Monday night Sketch 101 classes." That way, the next person who is looking for the same information can find it easily. If you call it "Upcoming Sketch 101 classes" or "Sketch 101", I won't answer it.

[tanouye]

How quickly do classes sell out?

Lately our core classes have been selling out anywhere from less-than-one minute to an hour after they go online. (Improv 301 does not fill up as quickly due to changes in the enrollment process after Improv 201.)

So if you go online Tuesday night and see that a course you want is going online Wednesday, try to be online exactly when it says the classes will be released, otherwise you will probably not get your desired slot.