The following possible revisions to the current Furman calendar
seek to address the most salient objections and goals expressed by faculty and
students during our CRC efforts. Having cut the Gordian contact-hours knot,
there may be some changes that might make our practices more flexible and more
consistent with patterns at other schools without undercutting those current
programs that benefit from our current structure. Above all, a revised calendar
should allow for maximum flexibility in scheduling, should only mandate daily
meetings where appropriate to the subject matter, should keep faculty and
student loads per term at a prudent level, and should allow for compatibility
with other programs.
The following presumes that a typical
four credit course at leading liberal arts colleges has roughly 2,100 contat
minutes a term. (42 meetings x 50 minutes). This is somewhat less than Furman’s
current 2,750 minutes in the wings (55*50) or 2,475 minutes in our “short” winter term, which
are at the highest end nationally in terms of contact time per credit hour. Note that while in presenting these
calculations there is no intended presumption of a direct relationship between contact
time on one hand and the thoroughness or completeness of a student’s
learning experience on the other, there is the assumption that some equivalency
with common practices at other comparable institutions is wise and that a
systematic comparison of instructional time may lend clarity to our comparisons.
Option One: 3-2-3:
Fall and Spring:
Classes would begin approx. Aug. 29 and end Nov. 17 in the Fall Term (12
weeks). Exams would be held Sunday-Wed., immediately before Thanksgiving. Final
course grades would be turned in a week after Thanksgiving. The Spring Term
would begin March 6 and end May 19 (12 weeks)
The wing terms would have approx. 35 thrice weekly meetings for
60 minutes a session. (35*60 = 2100)
The wing terms would have approx. 24 twice weekly meetings for 90 minutes a
session. (24 * 90 = 2160)
Morning sessions would be coordinated to enable 5 day a week meeting schedule
for those classes that require it.
In contrast to the current system, which allows seven classes to be scheduled
per room per week for classes that start at the 8 to 3 hours, this modification
would allow eleven (7 MWF+ 4 TTH = 11) classes to meet starting at the 8 to 3
hours. Adding four extra course spaces per term would allow departments to
teach many of their current Winter term GER or major courses in the wings. The
possible exception would be chemistry courses with labs, which could still
remain in the “Interdisciplinary Two Course” term.
Again, a key advantage with this (national standard) scheduling
system is that it would allow departments to move any and all of their GER or
major courses that require a longer term length into the wings. In particular,
ENG-11, fine arts courses and other courses whose pedagogy depended on breaks,
processing time, and a greater term length could all be taught in the wings, in
precisely the same way and with precisely the same faculty load and daily
schedule that would be typical under a semester system. Although the contact
hours under this proposal would be somewhat less than is the norm at Furman
presently (a 15 percent drop over our current winter term hours), it would be
entirely consistent with national practices.
December Interim
This proposal adds a two week “December Interim” term that would
begin the week after Thanksgiving. This could be used for truly exotic, original and freeform
courses on the
Likewise, it could be used as a time when second year students
could complete their “academic planning essay/portfolio” and submit their
request to be promoted to upper class rank. The period could also be used for post-semester
activities such as recitals, student shows, and engaged learning poster
sessions or colloquia. Faculty could use this period for mini-research projects
with selected students from the previous term, while the content was still
fresh. It could provide a nice brief “in-country” follow-up for introductory
language courses. Most importantly, this period should be used to house the
academic component of winter term +travel study or internship programs, thus
reducing the need for the “shadow classes” that take place right now.
We might also consider allowing some winter term courses in
which processing time matters to use this period as a “term
extender,” with a caveat that no regular tests or finals could be assigned. Only courses with a demonstrated
pedagogical need for (a) the two course interdisciplinary winter session and
(b) a clear need for extended time, would be granted permission to use the
interim for these regular class meetings. For those courses that could meet the
stringent requirements, the effective Winter term course duration would be
changed to a full eleven weeks. But only for those courses and faculty whose
needs matched such a case. Faculty would not be required to teach courses in
this term, and students would be asked to take courses in December only in the
context of specific classes or interim experiences.
An Interdisciplinary Two Course Term
Our new scheduling flexibility in the wings would now allow departments to move
any or all of their required courses to the Fall or Spring semesters. This
would allow us to benefit from the main advantages of the current Winter term,
which include longer class periods and a reduced student/faculty load. In
particular, it would allow us to fully exploit the possibility for
interdisciplinary linkages across two courses (as is currently the case with
our travel programs and the medical ethics course, for example). It would give
students a chance to have an intensive experience within a single discipline
(such as techniques of chemistry, for example). It would also provide space for
students to intensively pursue their own interdisciplinary integrations. The
longer periods would allow more space for movie showings, classroom debates,
group work, simulations, etc. Although departments would normally want to
schedule their lecture courses in the wings, the longer periods could be
divided informally into two sessions, as is often the case with our Summer I
session. Courses that combine lecture and lab/studio experiences could also
more effectively connect their theoretical and applied components in these
longer time blocks. The one drawback is that students might have more
difficulty finding GER/major courses during this term. With our current
curricular proposal’s reduced GER this might turn out to be less of a
problem than we might
think. We will await a more close accounting to be sure.
The term would begin approx. January 4 and end approx. Feb. 23.
(7 weeks)
Classes would meet 3 days a week for 95 minutes (95*3*7 = 1995 contact
minutes), or would meet 4 days a week for 75 minutes (75 * 4 * 7 = 2100 contact
minutes). All classes would be scheduled using the 95 minute blocks mandated by
the longer thrice-weekly classes. Those courses where pedagogical reasons
required it could use the December interim (see above) to extend the calendar
length of their experiences.
Using these blocks we would only be able to schedule four rather
than five classes in a single space during the same time versus our current
Winter term, a net loss of one scheduling block. If we added one scheduling
block from 2:55 p.m. to 4:30 the scheduling slots would remain the same.
Option Two: 3-3-2:
One modification might be to shift the Two Course Interdisciplinary Term to the
Spring. The regular Spring semester would then begin approx. Jan. 4 and end
March 28. Spring Term would begin April 10 and end May 19. (short Spring
interterm break) or May 26 (long Spring interterm break). Would this negate the
value of the December interim for the Two Course Interdisciplinary Term? For
some things, though perhaps not for travel/study.
Advantages of this Proposal:
This proposal would add considerable scheduling flexibility to the wing terms
and allow many more courses whose pedagogy is suited to a longer term to be
taught in the twelve week span. Classes in all three terms would have the
(wildly popular) days off, but there would still be space for 5 day a week
meetings in those courses that require it. The proposal would allow students to
maintain a 3-2-3 load, but would make a four course wing term load possible where
a student needed it. Such a load would not be significantly more burdensome
than under standard semesters. Departments themselves could allocate teaching
loads across the three terms as their pedagogy or energy levels suited them,
rather than having this constrained by the university-wide 2-1-2 structure. One
possibility is that faculty could reschedule their regular load in such a way
as to make far more Furman Advantage research partnerships available during the
academic year rather than the Summers. The December interim would allow for all
kinds of interesting and creative engaged learning experiences, while providing
even more pedagogical flexibility for those courses which require it. Faculty
choosing not to teach under this model would have a significantly longer
holiday break in December. Current travel study, interdisciplinary internship,
and discipline-intensive courses would be preserved intact. The proposal
resolves most of the complaints about calendar that people have expressed in
forums and discussions.
Disadvantages of this Proposal:
As with a shift to semesters, there would be a significant reduction in contact
time. Shifting courses from the Winter to the wings would mean that more
faculty would have to teach a three course per term load, though this three
course load would be somewhat less common than would be the case under a
semester system. The academic year would be one to two weeks longer from start
to finish, though the December holiday would be more humane. Faculty
compensation for the December interim would have to be funded/negotiated.
Posted by
mfairbairn at August 19, 2005 12:30 PM
Discuss
this proposal in the forum, or leave a comment below!