BLOOMINGTON — Indiana University's main campus will see its class schedule revamped to have the Fall Semester start a week earlier and give a full week off over Thanksgiving.
The new calendar is set to start in 2012 after being approved by the Bloomington Faculty Council. The Herald-Times reports that the campus' new summer schedule will consist of three four-week modules, reducing the summer session from 14 to 12 weeks.
The faculty council's vote follows discussions with university administrators and student government leaders. The vote effectively sets the schedule without further input or approval, council president Erika Dowell said.
"The only obstacles that could come up now is if there really are serious unforeseen implementation issues," Dowell said.
Under the new calendar, the 2012 Fall Semester will start Aug. 20 instead of Aug. 27. It will also include a one-day Fall Break on the Friday of either the seventh or eighth week of the Fall Semester.
Faculty council members in previous meetings said they'd like to see the campus' some 42,000 students have less time on campus before classes start, cutting the free time for undesirable behaviors such as partying and drinking.
Faculty members also said that creating a full week off for Thanksgiving merely acknowledges the reality that many students — especially those from out-of-state — miss classes during the partial week before the Thanksgiving holiday because of travel plans.
Thomas Gieryn, vice provost for faculty and academic affairs, said the new calendar was a compromise.
"I think the proposed calendar allows us to teach more effectively and for students to learn more effectively," he said.
The changes approved Tuesday will add one instructional day in the Fall Semester, giving it 73 days while Spring Semester remains at 74.
Earlier this month, the Ball State Faculty Council discussed the university's Fall and Thanksgiving breaks. The latest proposal for Fall Break is a four-day holiday for Thanksgiving. But with students being asked to come to school only one day that week, the worry is no one will come to class for that Monday.
The discussion of a Fruesday solution began about a year ago and appear to be ending any time soon.
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