University Senate voted Thursday to recommend that Ball Statemove its Spring Break week to coincide with the Muncie schools'Spring Break.
The proposal would make Ball State follow Muncie schools'formula of having Spring Break the last full week in March, butonly if there were six weeks of classes after it.
Sen. Stanley Keil, Academic Policies Council chairman, said thatBall State would not be with Muncie schools about once out of everyseven years because there wouldn't be enough weeks between SpringBreak and finals week.
Keil said the change would help students who had to observe atMuncie schools, such as teaching majors.
Because Ball State has a different week for Spring Break thanMuncie schools, students miss two weeks to observe. If the weekswere the same, they would only lose one week, Keil said.
Sen. Brien Smith said many faculty members' children attendMuncie schools. They then cannot go on Spring Break with theirfamilies because of the separate weeks.
"I have four small children, and I can't travel while they're onbreaks," Smith said.
However, Sen. Steve Geraci said the change would hurt studentsbecause Ball State would no longer have the same Spring Break weekas other Indiana universities.
"This is monumentally important to students that we be alignedwith other colleges," Geraci said.
Geraci said students like being able to go on Spring Break withfriends from Indiana University and Purdue University.
Sen. Meghan Newlund said some students use Spring Break to visitwith friends from home who attend other colleges, and they wouldn'tbe able to if Spring Break was moved further into the year.
Keil said Ball State rarely had Spring Break with other Indianauniversities, though, and there had never been an effort by anyuniversities to align their Spring Breaks.
Keil also said that there are universities that have SpringBreak this week and the next two weeks this year.
Muncie schools invited Ball State to discuss aligning the SpringBreak weeks several years ago, but Ball State declined. Because ofthis, Ball State is not in a position to ask Muncie schools to movetheir Spring Break back, Keil said.
The Board of Trustees must still approve the recommendation.
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