CSUN 2007-2008 Academic Calendar Issues
March 16, 2006 Senate Meeting
Issues Directly Related to Constructing the Proposed Academic Calendars
1. Should we provide enough time in the academic calendar for a YRO qualified Summer Session ( 13.5 weeks)?
2. Should we provide enough time for a 12 (6 + 6) week, non YRO qualified summer session?
3. Should we provide enough time for a 11 (5 + 6) week, non YRO qualified summer session?
4. What should the length of the summer break be ( number of weeks)?
5. Should the fall semester start before or after Labor Day?
6. How soon before Christmas should finals end?
7. How much time should we have between the day fall final grades are due and the start of the spring semester classes?
8. Should the academic calendar provide enough time for a 3 ( or 3.5 ) week winter intersession?
9. What should be the start and end days of winter break?
10. When should spring semester classes start in January?
11. When should the spring semester finals end in May?
12. Do we need to change the current process for the development of the academic calendar? Should this change be postponed until consideration of the 2008-2009 calendar?
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Proposed Calendars
Proposal 1: Classes start after Labor Day. Spring classes start Jan 14; Spring finals finish May 9; Room for a “YRO Qualified” summer session (13.5 weeks) in 2008. A “YRO qualified” summer session is a summer session with the same number of word days and instruction days as a regular semester.
Advantages / Disadvantages· Faculty and students have longer summer break for work, research, renewal;
· Faculty can may be able to teach 15 units in summer; higher pay;
· Fall start date consistent with most k-12 schools;
· Students who would have taken the winter session can switch to the summer session where fees are lower. / · Shorter winter break so less time for work, research and renewal in January;
· Finals finish too close to Christmas;
· There is not enough time to grade final exams before Christmas.
· No winter intersession; affects student progress toward degree.
· No winter intersession means a loss of revenue for departments
· RTP faculty and committees use January for the RTP process and need the longer break
· Not enough time between date grades are due and start of the Spring semester
· Not enough time to prepare spring classes
· Two Monday holidays in spring
· Fall end date not consistent with most K-12 schools
· Spring start date inconsistent with community colleges – problem for mid-year transfers
Proposal 2: Classes start after Labor Day. Spring classes start Jan 28; Room only for a non-YRO Qualified summer session (12 weeks)
Advantages / Disadvantages· Winter intersession is possible
· Long winter break for work, research, renewal;
· Fall start date consistent with most k-12 schools; / · Finals finish too close to Christmas;
· No time to grade finals before Christmas
· Faculty can teach only 12 units in summer; less pay than with 15 units
· No winter intersession; affects student progress toward degree.
· No winter intersession means a loss of revenue for departments
· Fall end date inconsistent with most K-12 schools
Proposal 3: Closest to the 2005-2006 calendar. Classes start before Labor Day. Spring classes start Jan 28; Room only for a non-YRO Qualified summer sessions (11 weeks) in 2007 and (11-12 weeks) in 2008;
Advantages / Disadvantages· Winter intersession is possible; students can make progress toward degree
· Winter intersession is possible; good revenue stream for departments
· Long winter break for work, research, renewal;
· Finals finish Dec 14; finals can be graded before Christmas / · Faculty teaching 12 units in summer may not be able to get paid for other assignments if there is an 11 week summer session;
· In-state students pay higher fees in intersession than in summer
Questions concerning the 2007-2008 Academic Calendar
1. Is the “125% work rule” a contractual requirement or a CSU requirement or a state requirement? How much and in what ways is it driving this calendar process?
2. Do students want a long summer break? What do the students think about the academic calendar proposals?
3. How many students are participating in the winter intersession? How many faculty are participating in the winter intersession?
4. Is there an advantage in Proposal 1 to moving the start date of the spring 2008 semester from Jan 14 to Jan 21?
5. Should we be eliminating the self-support sessions that departments have used to fund their operations?
6. Who should have the responsibility of setting the academic calendar?
7. Should major changes to the present (2005-06) format for calendar be postponed until further analysis of the implications/impact can take place and broader consultation with faculty and students?
8. One of the major advantages given for a switch to an academic calendar that permits a YRO Qualified summer session ( Proposal 1) or a 12 week summer session (Proposal 2) was the advantages of a YRO qualified summer session or 12 week summer session for faculty and students. This has raised many issues about how the YRO qualified summer session or 12 week summer session will be implemented.
a. We do not know exactly what a YRO qualified summer session will mean for the faculty. Will faculty be able to switch out the fall or spring semester for a summer semester? How does this depend on the contract negotiations?
b. Summer enrollments will probably not be very high, so is it likely that many faculty could teach a full load in the summer? Will enrollments be sufficient to justify significant (up to15 unit) faculty teaching assignments?
c. Will faculty teaching summer session whether 6, 11, 12 or 13 weeks be paid for assignments/workload (advising, committees, etc.) other than teaching?
d. How many units would individual faculty actually be able to teach in summer due to student demand for courses, funding, contract issues, etc?
e. Will all faculty (regardless of rank and thus compensation level) who wish to teach 15 units be given equal opportunity to do so?
f. What will be the pay rate for summer teaching?
g. Will the “switch-out” option (trade teaching in summer for no teaching in either spring or fall) actually be an option for faculty if we move to a 13 week summer session? If so how will decisions be made as to which faculty members will be able to choose such an option?
h. How do student contact hours relate to instructional days?
9. Should the 2007-2008 calendar consider the Alternate Class Schedule discussions going on campus? What will the effect of a MW, TTH, Friday block day schedule have on the academic calendar?
10. How does or will an increase in on-line education affect the academic calendar?
11. Should we change the Academic Calendar process to include a Senate vote on the calendar?
12. What helps our students graduate faster? A winter intersession or a summer session that is equivalent to a regular semester?