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The Daily OrangeCommittee to revamp SU calendar: Student input used for alterations to academic schedule
By Aleks Shats
Posted: 1/25/08, 12:00 AM EST Section: News
This semester, it's time for students to give their input on the school schedule. The Academic Calendar Committee (ACC) is asking students for their take on the changes that would help their academic and personal endeavors in 2009.
Historically, the academic calendar is revised every five years, said Sandra Hurd, the associate provost and member of the ACC.
"We're looking at how the calendar can best meet the learning objectives of the students," she said. "One of the goals is, as much as possible, to have full instructional weeks."
Some of the proposed changes to the academic calendar include a post-Labor Day start for the fall semester, a week-long Thanksgiving break, a longer winter vacation and the abolition of religious holidays as non-instructional days
The goal for this calendar will be to have as many full weeks (Monday through Friday), as possible Hurd said. With the current schedule, three of the first five Mondays of the 2009 fall semester would have been non-instructional days. This schedule would make it difficult to fulfill the minimum contact hours required by the state and would present a challenge for the classes that meet only once a week, she said.
"Some faculty feel strongly that we shouldn't have days off, especially in the beginning of the semester," said Maureen Breed, university registrar and chair of the ACC. "It takes away from the learning process."
While the ACC is looking at the ways to strengthen the academic schedule, it is also trying to make the new calendar more reflective of the needs of students, faculty and staff, Breed said. The potential post-Labor Day start, for instance, would accommodate students who need an extra week to work at their jobs and faculty with children in school.
Deb Oonk, a senior public relations and policy studies major, said a post-Labor Day start would help students and their parents.
"It would benefit kids who need their parents to help them move in," Oonk said. "Parents usually have Labor Day off, so that would make the moving-in process easier."
Historically, the academic calendar is revised every five years, said Sandra Hurd, the associate provost and member of the ACC.
"We're looking at how the calendar can best meet the learning objectives of the students," she said. "One of the goals is, as much as possible, to have full instructional weeks."
Some of the proposed changes to the academic calendar include a post-Labor Day start for the fall semester, a week-long Thanksgiving break, a longer winter vacation and the abolition of religious holidays as non-instructional days
The goal for this calendar will be to have as many full weeks (Monday through Friday), as possible Hurd said. With the current schedule, three of the first five Mondays of the 2009 fall semester would have been non-instructional days. This schedule would make it difficult to fulfill the minimum contact hours required by the state and would present a challenge for the classes that meet only once a week, she said.
"Some faculty feel strongly that we shouldn't have days off, especially in the beginning of the semester," said Maureen Breed, university registrar and chair of the ACC. "It takes away from the learning process."
While the ACC is looking at the ways to strengthen the academic schedule, it is also trying to make the new calendar more reflective of the needs of students, faculty and staff, Breed said. The potential post-Labor Day start, for instance, would accommodate students who need an extra week to work at their jobs and faculty with children in school.
Deb Oonk, a senior public relations and policy studies major, said a post-Labor Day start would help students and their parents.
"It would benefit kids who need their parents to help them move in," Oonk said. "Parents usually have Labor Day off, so that would make the moving-in process easier."
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