Do you want to see changes to the UMBC academic calendar?

Wed, 13 Mar 2024 15:32:20 -0400

The faculty have been considering changes to future academic calendars, and there is both need and widespread desire for some change, such as the addition of a fall break. At the same time, for certain course schedules, we are currently out of compliance with the minimum 750 minutes per credit hour students need to be in class for our accreditation.

But what changes would work best for the most stakeholders?

There will be no changes this fall, but if you would like to see particular changes in future, please reach out to your Graduate Program Director (GPD) to share your perspective. The Faculty Senate President will reach out to the GPDs to find out what we want and need so that the faculty may take that into account when making future decisions.

Of course, we cannot simply take away 1-3 days of class during the semester without adding some way(s) to make up for the lost time. Two proposals that the faculty did not choose to institute this fall are discussed in the attached document, to give you an idea of the kinds of possibilities that have been suggested so far. When you reach out to your GPD, be sure to include your answers to the questions below:

Would you like to see any changes to the academic calendar (such as the addition of a fall break, the addition of a day off the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and/or other changes)? Which specific changes are most important to you and why? What would you be most willing & able to accommodate in exchange (e.g., semester starts a few days earlier and/or ends a few days later, time between classes reduced to 10 minutes, addition of 1 makeup session on a Friday evening for classes on certain days of the week)?

Thank you for speaking up!