The University Education Committee approved a motion to alter the Fall Semester academic calendar by extending what is now Thanksgiving Break and eliminating what are now Fall Break and Fruesday, Laura Helms, associate dean and director of academic systems for University College, said.
The motion, which was approved Tuesday, must still be approved by Faculty Council, University Senate and the Ball State University Board of Trustees in order to be implemented, she said.
If passed, Helms said Fall Break would be moved to the week of Thanksgiving, and the new break would last for one full week. Finals week would remain the same with no Saturday finals.
Sophomore pre-dentistry major Lisa Payton-Webber said she would be in favor of the change because the current length of Thanksgiving Break is unfair to out-of-state students.
"I'm from Maryland, and to go home for part of the week would not be economically plausible," she said. "It would not make sense."
Sophomore Jason Bennison, whose major is undecided, said he doesn't like Fall Break.
"It's just one day, which is Friday, and the rest of the weekend, which is already given, so, I mean, what's the point?" he said. "I only have a couple classes on Friday anyway."
Helms said the change is being proposed to equalize the number of days in each semester.
"Right now Fall [Semester] is one day longer," she said. "There is one extra instructional day in Fall than Spring."
Amy Leahy, UEC chairwoman, said the committee started discussing the effectiveness of Fruesday because the legislation that passed Fruesday in 2006 required that it be reevaluated in three years.
Leahy said Fruesday was originally created to eliminate Saturday finals. Before Fruesday, she said, the last class of the Fall Semester fell on a Monday and finals week lasted from Tuesday to Saturday.
Even if the UEC's motion is approved by the rest of the university, Leahy said she is unsure whether it will be in time to change the policy for Fall 2010.
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