Instructional Time: An Analysis of Purdue’s Academic Calendar By Dr. Frank J. Dooley White Paper January 2014 While based upon numerous conversations with faculty members, staff, and students from Purdue and other universities, this white paper is the sole work of the author. Executive Summary The shift to a trimester or a year round university is an exceedingly complex question. Part of the challenge in approaching multifaceted issues is simply determining where does one start? Almost 100 questions were identified by the University Senate (Dooley). The goal of this white paper is to provide the campus with the structure of a prototype trimester calendar. As such, it begins to provide a context and definitions to consider the questions surrounding the shift to trimesters. Yet the focus of this white paper is very narrow, only considering the feasibility of the alternative academic calendars and the use of instructional time. If a proposed change to the calendar were deemed feasible, the next step would be to consider the ramifications across the broader set of questions. Most public institutions (92%) currently operate with a semester calendar. Only seven public institutions have a trimester calendar, with the most notable case being the University of Michigan. However, when queried, administrators at Michigan were surprised to learn they are on a trimester. In short, very little use is made of the summer sessions for instruction at the University of Michigan. Comparing Purdue’s current academic calendar with 18 other public universities for the period Fall 2013 through Summer 2014 provides a benchmark to gauge the use of instructional time. Relative to our peers, Purdue students have more instructional time per semester. A Purdue student schedule has class for 74 days, 6 days of final exams, and no reading day, for a total of 80 days of instruction per term. This is almost 2 more total days of instruction per term than our peers, who average 71.8 days of instruction, 5.4 days of final exams, and 1.0 reading days. A prototype balanced trimester calendar is developed and compared to the current Purdue academic calendar, as well as to the unbalanced trimester calendar of the University of Michigan. The prototype calendar is a balanced trimester, consisting of 14-week fall and spring terms, with two 7-week summer terms. The use of instructional time for the three types of calendars is compared by obtaining or developing academic calendars for 11 years into the future. In short, both a balanced and an unbalanced trimester calendar are feasible alternatives to the current calendar. However, the unbalanced trimester as practiced by the University of Michigan is viewed with disfavor because of its lack of consistency. One implication is the 13 weeks of instruction with the balanced trimester will only require 12 full weeks of instruction, plus two days in the 13th week. There will be 37 MWF class periods and 25 TH class periods per fall and spring term. A choice must be made as to which week of the term is a partial week. The balanced trimester calendar offers advantages for summer sessions. Allowing time for 2 exam days in each summer session and ending on a Thursday in the second summer session, would leave 32 days for instruction in both terms. A longer winter break might allow for Maymester type courses, either online or perhaps as study abroad. The University of Iowa and Maryland conduct a 3-week winter term. Switching to a balanced trimester may affect the use of instructional time in at least five ways. Thus, a change will also require that we consider policies and practices for: 1) the hours of operation, 2) evening exams, 3) final exams, 4) dead week, and 5) drop/add deadlines. i Table of Contents Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................... i Table of Contents ...................................................................................................................................... ii List of Figures and Tables ......................................................................................................................... iii Instructional Time: An Analysis of Purdue’s Academic Calendar ................................................................. 1 Background and Goals .............................................................................................................................. 1 Academic Calendars ...................................................................................................................................... 2 Purdue and Peer Institution Academic Calendars .................................................................................... 3 The Structure of Three Academic Calendars ............................................................................................ 8 Days of Instruction per Term ................................................................................................................ 9 University Holidays ............................................................................................................................. 10 University Regulations and Guidelines ............................................................................................... 10 A Comparison of Academic Calendars .................................................................................................... 11 Discussion and Ramifications .................................................................................................................. 15 1. Hours of operation .......................................................................................................................... 15 2. Evening examinations .................................................................................................................... 16 3. Final examinations .......................................................................................................................... 17 4. Dead week ....................................................................................................................................... 17 5. Drop/add deadline .......................................................................................................................... 17 Summary ................................................................................................................................................. 18 Sources .................................................................................................................................................... 18 Appendix A – Links for Calendars ............................................................................................................ 19 Appendix B. Current and Proposed Academic Calendar, Fall 2013 through Summer 2014 .................. 20 ii List of Figures and Tables Figure 1. Assumed Evolution of Trimester Credit Hours .............................................................................. 2 Table 1. Type of Calendar, by Type of Institution, Primarily Granting Baccalaureate or Higher, 2012 ....... 3 Table 2. Start and End Dates, and Number of Weeks for Fall and Spring Terms, 2013-14 a ....................... 4 Table 3. Allocation of Days per Semester, for Fall and Spring Term, 2013-14 ............................................ 6 Table 4. Weeks per Summer 1 and Summer 2 Terms .................................................................................. 7 Table 5. Number of Weeks, by Fall, Spring, Summer and Between Terms, 2013-14 .................................. 8 Table 6. Instructional Time and Days per Term for 3 Credit Course ............................................................ 9 Table 7. Number of Average Weeks by Term, Purdue, Balanced Trimester, and Unbalanced Trimester . 13 Table 8. A Comparison of the Current and Proposed Academic Calendars, 2013-14 to 2023-24 ............. 13 Table 9. Allocation of Days per Term, Current, Balanced, and Unbalanced Calendar .............................. 14 iii Instructional Time: An Analysis of Purdue’s Academic Calendar Background and Goals Conversations across campus suggest five reasons why Purdue might consider adopting a different academic calendar apart from, and before a decision is made whether the campus should switch to trimesters. The five reasons are: 1) a lack of clarity, 2) the use of instructional time, 3) symmetry among terms, 4) cooperative (coop) education, and 5) less risk if summer demand is low. First, prolonged ambiguity about Purdue’s future academic calendar creates two sources of uncertainty. To start, a lack of clarity about the nature of our calendar may complicate the recruitment of new faculty. In addition, a clear expectation about future academic calendars is important for Admission’s work with prospective students and their families. Second, during the past two years, proposals to revise five academic regulations with respect to the instructional time have been introduced at the Educational Policy Committee. The structure of an academic calendar affects instructional time, which in turn depends on student regulations for drop/add deadlines, night examinations, final examinations, hours of operation, and dead week. Third, some faculty members suggest it is logical to have 14-week fall/spring terms and two 7-week summer sessions. The symmetry of 14 weeks across all terms means fewer or perhaps no adjustments are required to teach courses