School of Computer Science Room Use Guidelines Policy

SCS staff and faculty may schedule SCS rooms as needed (in some cases, based on their department affiliation and permissions level). Graduate students may reserve a room for appropriate events by working with the relevant faculty or staff contact for their group or activity. It is anticipated that reservations for faculty will be made by the administrators who support them.

SCS Room Use Committee

Oversight for use of conference room spaces in SCS is provided by a committee of representatives from each department in SCS. This committee meets twice per year at the start of each of the Fall and Spring semester to prioritize and schedule major event requests (Orientation, Open House, Faculty Hiring, Graduate Student Review, etc.) a semester in advance.

Room Use Committee representatives are periodically reassigned at the department level by the Business Manager or Department Head. Please contact someone within your department for more information about the activities of this committee.

Room Usage

In general, try to optimize usage. By this we mean try to use:

• A size-appropriate room: the smallest one that fits the number of people
• Faculty or other offices, where feasible (e.g. for small meetings), to make best use of our resources
• A room that makes sense (considering configuration, for example) to minimize inconvenience to others

The SCS Dean's Office reserves the right to remove reservations in any room (regardless of room type) that are in violation of the SCS Reasonable Person Principle

 Room Types

Classes & Academic Uses

• Classes may not be held in conference rooms
• Academic Uses are different from classes and have been categorized as follows:

Long Lead Time Reservations

In general, reservations may be made up to one (1) semester in advance. Our reservation system constrains the user to making reservations for events to be held prior to a particular date. For example:

• At the start of a Fall semester, following a Room Use Committee meeting, the reservation system will be opened for reservations for events that will occur the following Spring and Summer semesters. 
• At the start of the Spring semester, following a Room Use Committee meeting, the reservations will be opened for reservations for events that will occur the following Fall semester. 

Note that certain spaces have very specific requirements for making reservations. For example, in order to meet the conditions of CMU's contract with the food vendor in the NSH Atrium, it is necessary to (a) make reservations for this space 13 or more days in advance, (b) limit events (Monday-Saturday) in this space to begin after 2:30pm, and (c) furniture must be returned to its original state. Similar restrictions may apply to other spaces from time to time. 

User Responsibility & Rules

• Responsibility - The person for whom the room has been reserved (in our reservation system this is the person listed as "requested for") is responsible for making the reservation, setting up the room, and the condition of the room following the meeting. HOWEVER, it is possible to delegate this responsibility to a second person (in our reservation system this is the person listed as the "meeting/event contact"). 
• Double Booking - Do not book multiple rooms for the same event for contingency purposes.
• Holds - If you are not sure your event will actually take place, either at all or at the specified time and place, you should include the word HOLD in the Meeting Title.
• No-Shows - If a requester repeatedly reserves a room and does not use it (and fails to cancel at least 3 hours in advance), he or she may have limitations placed on future access.
• Set Up & Cleaning - If you fail to clean a room (or have FMS do so) promptly after use, SCS may charge you for cleaning. Note that Resource Scheduler has a feature that allows time to be reserved for set up and tear down for an event, if needed.
• Room Security - Please be sure the door(s) of the conference room is/are closed and locked following your meeting/event. The most common reason a room is untidy is because rooms are left unlocked and used during off hours by community members who did not reserve the space.
• Bumping - If you ask someone to move (with a good reason), you are expected to help him or her find another space before they agree to move.
• Alcohol - For events that include the use of alcohol, event organizers and room users must comply with university alcohol policies.

Decorations

Decorations may not be placed where they block doorways, stairways or general passageways. Pins and thumbtacks may not be used on walls. All decorations must be removed at the end of your event.

Cleaning

As noted above, the meeting requestor (or meeting/event contact) is responsible, with the attendees of the meeting/event, for cleanup of the space used. Tables and chairs should be cleaned, and floors should be swept if debris is present. For larger events, an FMS work order for cleaning services may be required.

Catering

If you need catering for your event, visit the CMU Catering Services website for more information including menus and important ordering information. You can also E-mail your order, along with an oracle string, to catering@andrew.cmu.edu and call 412-268-2129 to confirm.

Reserve the room with lead time to allow for room setup and catering setup.

• Most caterers will expect to have two or more tables for setting out food.
• Many of the conference rooms have a kitchenette nearby.
• Some of the large and special purpose conference rooms have a kitchenette that is directly accessible for caterer use.
• The GHC 4411 kitchen serves the 4405 conference room, Rashid Auditorium, and the lobby in between them; GHC 6102 serves the 6101 Collaborative Commons; and 6119 serves the 6115 and 6121 conference rooms.

Emergencies

Any concerns regarding room temperature, spills, damaged fixtures, etc. should be reported as soon as possible to SCS Building Facilities. If the fire alarm sounds while you are having a meeting, everyone must evacuate the building as quickly as possible.