Curriculum Review: Proposals

Calendar proposal (#58)

After a conversation over lunch today, I decided to offer the following proposal and hope that serious consideration can be given to it under the right circumstance. If all else fails (the "right circumstance"), we should at least consider reversing the present winter and spring terms, i.e., have a twelve-week term from January through March with an eight-week term following during April and May. I offer the following rationales for this modest calendar change:

1. a twelve-week winter term would provide a longer period during which to recover (course content coverage) from inclement-weather class cancellations;
2. a twelve-week winter term would provide a longer period of time during which both students and instructors could recover from absences due to winter term illnesses;
3. "spring break" could actually occur in early spring (what a novel idea!),
4. present winter term study abroad programs could be shifted to warmer weather in April and May or kept in the January-through-March time frame with the possibility of extending their durations and/or geographic coverages; and
5. if we are serious about extending access to study abroad experiences for more of our students, the twelve-week fall term study abroad programs could be repeated during a twelve-week winter term with little change in organization or structure.
6. Winter term preregistration advisement is as long and time consuming as is fall term advisement since during both terms we have to deal with all four student classes. However, the winter term advisement period extends over a larger proportion of the winter term. It is for this reason that many conscientious advisors regard winter-term advisement as more burdensome than is fall term advisement. With a winter-spring term flip-flop, winter term advisement would extend over a smaller proportion of a 12-week winter term. Spring term advisement is always shorter than either fall or winter term advisment periods because we have to deal with only three student classes. This shorter spring term advisement period would be better suited to an 8-week spring term than the winter term advisment of all four student classes is to the present 8-week winter term.

I would consider the proposed "flip-flopping" of the winter and spring terms to be a marginal improvement that should benefit almost everyone (except possibly some seniors who might choose not to do study abroad programs during spring terms before their graduations), and I urge that serious consideration be given to this proposal if consensus cannot be reached on other curriculum/calendar proposals.

Posted by love at November 19, 2004 09:45 AM
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