Section A·Page 6
The University Daily Kansan
Monday, January 12, 1998
Calendar committee considers break for students, professors to fall back on
By Gerry Doyle
gdoyle @kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Future students may be given a chance to fall away from the stress and tedium of nearly 75 unbroken days of class.
The University Senate and the University calendar committee are considering a plan that would insert a break into the fall semester, probably in October.
The break would be less than a week — probably three days. The change would not be implemented until 1999.
"In casual discussion, it came up that the fall was more stressful than the spring," said Carol Holstead, associate professor of journalism and chairwoman of the calendar committee. "The break would be to help students and professors be more productive."
The added days of the break must fit in with the University of Kansas' calendar, however. The Kansas Board of Regents requires there be 160 instructional days per school year. Seventy-five of the University's instructional days are in the
fall semester.
To make the break fit, the school year would start earlier or end later, a prospect that could be unappealing to students and violate some teaching contracts that have specific starting dates, Holstead said.
Not all students see the need for a break.
"You have Thanksgiving break," said Dave Cook, Ames, Iowa doctor student. "You have the summer to recover from spring semester, so you're not as worn out. I don't see any real need for it."
Another option is shortening finals week by one day and using a two-day weekend to replace stop day. That option would produce the needed days, but could face some resistance from students because of exams being packed into a tighter time period.
nis Quinn, professor of English.
So far, the idea has received a positive response from both faculty and students. The stress and work of an entire semester with only Labor Day and Thanksgiving offering breathers can be trying and hurt teaching's effectiveness, said Den-
"On first sight, the idea appeals to me," Quinn said. "It's a long time from August to Thanksgiving. A break would give some relief from the tension of teaching."
The issue will be addressed in a calendar committee meeting in a few weeks, Holstead said. While there is support for a fall break, the meeting probably won't be more than a discussion, she said.
"Because of what it entails, there will be opposition to it," she said. "There will be a huge domino effect that is hard to anticipate."
Even if a concrete decision is made by the calendar committee, implementation of the plan isn't guaranteed to come soon — or at all.
The committee must write a proposal, which would be sent to the University Senate. If the senate and the students approve the proposal, Chancellor Robert Hemenway would have to endorse it and Provost David Shulenburger would implement it.
Additionally, the University calendar is created in three-year
FALL BREAK CONCEPT
WHEN: Possibly late October
WHY: To give students a chance to rest after midterms
HOW: The break would be accomplished by either changing the start or end times of of the school year or by shortening finals week and eliminating Stop Day
OTHER SCHOOLS! No Regents schools have a fall break, but Wichita State University is consider-ing one
cycles, and although no rule prohibits change during a cycle, an alteration couldn't take place until 1999.
"We're all for it, but it all depends on whether it's possible with the calendar or not," said Laurence Draper, president of the University Senate and professor of microbiology. "That's where it stands now."
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