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Important Dates to Keep in Mind

Managing all of the space on campus is complex, but we try to break things up to keep them simple for our users to understand. Space is primarily divided between Academic Space and Event Space. Requests for spaces are assigned depending upon the space requested and the date a request is made.
See below for details regarding these space holds and restrictions to ensure you do not run into any issues.

As always, please reach out to UES with any questions.
UES@american.edu or call (202) 885-3939

No event confirmations in academic space for, approximately, the first 3 weeks of class

Each semester academic space is distributed and re-distributed to accommodate student access needs, changing class sizes, and other logistical needs.

This means that any event requests for academic space between the start of the semester until the end of the academic blackout cannot be confirmed.

The academic blackout does not have a hard deadline but is generally lifted shortly after the deadline to register for classes, roughly 3 weeks after the start of the semester.

Major Events on campus take priority for space reservations, please be aware of the following 3 major events when requesting space on campus. You can find specific dates for these events at the academic calendar.

  1. Eagle Summits & Orientation (June-August) - these occur over several weeks during the summer, please visit the Orientation page for details. Expect large event spaces to be unavailable.
  2. Welcome Week (Mid August) - occurs just before the start of classes to welcome new and returning students. Expect large event space to be unavailable
  3. All-American Weekend (Mid October) - a three day celebration for students, family, and alums. Expect large event space to be unavailable
  4. Spring Commencement (Mid May) - three days leading up to and including commencement ceremonies. Large public spaces are used, expect heavy traffic and limited use of all campus space
After academic and major spaces have been assigned the University departments and student organizations are able to request academic and event spaces. 

These requests are placed in a workflow for building sub-schedulers who approve, deny, or re-route event requests as they are received. UES does not manage the approval of all space on campus, individual buildings and their sub-schedulers have specific rules and practices that guide their approval of space requests.  Click here for a list of all schedulers and the space they manage. 

UES assigns spaces on a first come first serve basis, this is not a universal policy. Each scheduler creates their own specific policy to meet the needs of their space.
Hosted external events are events where outside organizations may make use of American University space and resources, for a fee. 

"External" activities are defined as such:

A meeting, an event, or a series of meetings or events brought to campus on behalf of a non-AU organization, contracted directly with American University, and coordinated by an American University Cabinet officer, department, or recognized student organization

Professional associations, workshop sessions, and relevant conferences contribute to the vibrant AU community but space is primarily for student and department use. In order to save time if you are bringing an external group to campus please reach out to our office so we can ensure a successful event. 
  
  UES@american.edu (202) 885-3939

Hierarchy for Space Use

Space is limited at American University, which means that not all event requests will be processed in the same manner.

The following is the order in which an event will be given priority over a space. This is often accomplished with specific blackouts or restrictions during specific dates. See the left side for date specific restrictions

  1. Academic Classes
  2. Advanced Scheduling & Major Events
  3. Department & Student Organization events
  4. Hosted external events