Teaching and meeting room usage is growing. Rooms are used in many ways, both in and out of core hours. We recognise that it is unrealistic to provide 1-2-1 support throughout the day to the hundreds of rooms in use across College at any one time, but that it is reasonable to ask that all users make use of facilities in a thoughtful and mutually responsible way to avoid disrupting or over-burdening colleagues. On behalf of the College community, we ask that you read the guidelines below to understand how we can work together to make the best use of our facilities. All teaching and meeting rooms will continue to be serviced on a regular basis at the pre-agreed times. More information is available in the Cleaning FAQs here.
Booking etiquette
- During term-time, please use CELCAT Room Booker for ad hoc, non-teaching bookings only. Please contact your department timetabler for teaching bookings. See contact details on the Central Timetabling Website.
- Confirmed bookings take precedence over emerging requirements.
- If you need to book room setup or catering you should consider whether to contact Internal Events to make your room booking. Please note that room set ups incur a charge to your department.
- Only book the required time for the session, to include any setup and re-set.
- If you require catering, check that the room is suitable for catering (as some are not) and make sure that the room users will be able to leave the room in a suitable state for other staff and students to use.
- Cancel bookings that are no longer required as soon as possible.
- Choose a suitable room by checking the room information. Some rooms are in spaces that mean they are appropriate for quiet meetings only, which excludes conference or Teams / Zoom calls.
- A booked room will be considered free, and may be used by others, if it has not been occupied 15 minutes after the start of the booking.
- If the room booking is not used or the room is left in an unsuitable state, you may be contacted.
Room use etiquette
- The session host will take responsibility to ensure the room is left as they would wish to find it, in a suitable state for other staff and students.
- In line with the Academic Timetabling Policy, teaching and other bookings in teaching rooms will finish 10 minutes before the end of the room booking. For example, a one hour booked session will be 50 minutes long.
- If you have changed the room layout, please allow time to return furniture to the default layout (as indicated by signage) to not disrupt the next session. Please do not move furniture between rooms.
- Please bring your own stationery and consumables (e.g. white board pens, flipchart paper) and take them with you when you leave.
- If you use the whiteboard, please clean the board before you leave in readiness for the next user.
- If you need help during the teaching event, use the contact details in the room.
- Please report all faults, whether they impact your session or not. Contact details are in the room.
- If there appears to be a double booking, please check the CELCAT calendar for teaching rooms and the Planon calendar for meeting rooms and this will determine which is correctly booked in. In line with Imperial Values and Behaviours, please approach any student and staff member in a respectful manner so you can resolve the issue together.
- College delivered catering: please move plates/mugs etc to one area before leaving to make it easier for Catering staff to collect them. Externally sourced catering: please remove all remains of external catering from the room before leaving. Clean and replace anything borrowed from local kitchens.
- Lost property may be taken to Sherfield Lost Property Office.