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 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 . 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 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 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.

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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

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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

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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 in the summer. In addition, if we ultimately choose to adopt trimesters, it would simply be a case of changing the two 7-week summer sessions to a third 14-week trimester. Fourth, three 14-week terms across the year would assist scheduling for students in coop programs. These students typically spend 3 or 5 semesters on site at their sponsoring company, spread across fall, spring, and summer terms. Balanced terms would facilitate scheduling for coop students as employers feel the current summer sessions are too short. Moreover, a greater selection of courses during summer sessions would assist students’ participation in coops during fall and spring terms. Finally, changing the calendar to two 14-week terms with two 7-week summer sessions instead of shifting to a trimester lowers the risk if summer enrollment growth does not materialize. The balanced trimester proposal assumed that summer credit hours will grow from 7% of the fall 2010 total to 70% of the fall 2022 total, switching to trimesters when summer credit hours reach 35% of fall term (Figure 1). However, many question the validity of assuming that this many students will enroll during summer. The two 7-week summer sessions are important because they provide a summer academic calendar structure more likely to encourage summer enrollment. The first summer session is likely to attract students already enrolled. In contrast, the second session will draw students new to Purdue (e.g., summer honors, bridge programs, etc.). Thus, even if growth never triggers the switch to trimesters, the alternative calendar likely would lead to a much more robust summer session enrollment. To provide a basis to consider this idea, a prototype trimester calendar is developed and compared to the current academic calendar, as well as to the calendar of the University of Michigan. The focus of this analysis is very narrow, only considering the feasibility of the alternative academic calendars and the use of instructional time. The first alternative considers two 14-week fall/spring terms, with two 7-week summer terms, or a balanced trimester. The second alternative considers a calendar comparable to that of the University of Michigan, which is an unbalanced trimester. If a proposed change to the calendar were deemed feasible, the next step would be to consider the ramifications across the campus.

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Figure 1. Assumed Evolution of Trimester Credit Hours

500,000 450,000 400,000

350,000 300,000 250,000 200,000

Credit Hours Hours Credit 150,000 100,000 50,000 0 Fall Spring Summer 2010 460,190 430,338 25,000 2022 437,181 408,869 311,500

Source: Sands, Tim. “Senate Decadal Update: Jan. 23, 2012.” Report to the University Senate, January 23, 2012. https://www.purdue.edu/senate/meetings/index.html.

The organization of this report is to first briefly review the structure of academic calendars for 4-year universities from the U.S. Next, Purdue’s current academic calendar is compared with 18 other public universities for the period Fall 2013 through Summer 2014 to provide a benchmark to gauge the use of instructional time. Calendars are from the 12 public Big Ten institutions, 4 other peer institutions, and (who has moved to two 7.5 week terms or a 15 week term for fall/spring), and the University of Florida (who has a new program built around spring/summer enrollment). Three assumptions are then made which provide the basis for the two proposed calendars, which are compared to the current Purdue calendar. Finally, issues and challenges arising from the proposed calendars are identified.

Academic Calendars U.S. institutions of higher learning provide data and information to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System or IPEDS.1 In particular, IPEDS includes information about instructional characteristics, including control or affiliation, type of calendar system, levels of awards offered, and types of programs.2 Data were downloaded for 2,613 institutions who granted baccalaureate degrees or above, and who awarded BS degrees in the 2011-12 . Of the total, 25% were public institutions, 52% were private (not-for-profit), and 23% were private for profit (Table 1).

1 http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter/ 2 http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/about/

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Table 1. Type of Calendar, by Type of Institution, Primarily Granting Baccalaureate or Higher, 2012 Public Private For-profit Total Calendar number % number % number % number % Semester 611 92% 1,108 82% 135 23% 1,854 71% Quarter 39 6% 76 6% 291 49% 406 16% Four-one-four plan 9 1% 101 7% 0 0% 110 4% Trimester 7 1% 56 4% 10 2% 73 3% Other academic yr 0 0% 16 1% 154 26% 170 7% Total 666 100% 1,357 100% 590 100% 2,613 100% Source: IPEDS Data Center, http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter/CDSPreview.aspx

The principal types of calendars are semesters, quarters, the 4-1-4 system, and trimesters. The IPEDS definitions are:  The semester calendar consists of two sessions called semesters during the academic year with about 15 weeks for each semester of instruction. There may be an additional summer session.  The quarter calendar is a calendar system in which the academic year consists of 3 sessions called quarters of about 12 weeks each. The range may be from 10 to 15 weeks as defined by the institution. There may be an additional quarter in the summer.  The 4-1-4 calendar usually consists of 4 courses taken for 4 months, 1 course taken for 1 month, and 4 courses taken for 4 months. There may be an additional summer session.  The trimester calendar is an academic year consisting of 3 terms of about 15 weeks each.  With IPEDS, a summer session is shorter than a regular session and is not considered part of the academic year. It is not the third term of an institution operating on a trimester system or the fourth term of an institution operating on a quarter calendar systems. The institution may have two or more sessions occurring in the summer months. Semesters are the most prevalent calendar for public and private universities, at 92% and 82%, respectively (Table 1). In contrast, for-profit do not have a majority type of academic calendar, with 49% on a quarter system. Of the 666 four-year public US institutions, only 7 universities report as being on trimesters. The seven public institutions on trimesters are Granite State College (New Hampshire), Northwest Missouri State University, SUNY Empire State College, the United States Merchant Marine Academy, the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology- Okmulgee, and the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.

Purdue and Peer Institution Academic Calendars Purdue defines a credit hour in accordance with the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) standards, which in turn are based on federal regulations. Purdue’s guidelines grant one credit for a class meeting 50 minutes per week for the entire 15-week semester, or for the equivalent of 750 semester minutes, excluding final examinations.3 Purdue’s calendar consists of courses scheduled during the academic year and summer session. “[T]he academic year calendar shall consist of two 16-week semesters. Summer session(s) may be one 4-week and one 8-week or two 6-week or other configurations as approved by the Provost's Office.”

3 http://www.purdue.edu/registrar/Forms/Form40Info/Credit_Hr_Guidelines.pdf

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Days in the week were tracked for Purdue and 18 peer universities for the 2013-14 academic year, with days being classified for class, reading days, final exams, scheduled breaks, or holidays. The length of a term is measured from the first day of class through the last day of finals, and is measured in weeks. As such, the tally of days ignores faculty preparation time and commencement, and time between terms. Because of breaks and holidays, the 16-week academic semester is typically 17 calendar weeks (Table 2).

Table 2. Start and End Dates, and Number of Weeks for Fall and Spring Terms, 2013-14 a Number of weeks Number of weeks University Fall Start Fall End Spring Start Spring End Calendar Full Class Calendar Full Class Purdue 8/19/13 12/14/13 17.2 13 1/13/14 5/10/14 17.2 14 ASU 8/22/13 12/14/13 16.6 11 1/13/14 5/10/14 17.2 14 Cal 8/29/13 12/20/13 17.0 11 1/21/14 5/16/14 17.0 13 Florida 8/21/13 12/13/13 16.8 10 1/6/14 5/2/14 17.2 13 Ga Tech 8/19/13 12/13/13 17.0 13 1/6/14 5/2/14 17.0 14 Illinois 8/26/13 12/20/13 17.0 13 1/21/14 5/16/14 17.0 13 Indiana 8/26/13 12/20/13 17.0 13 1/13/14 5/9/14 17.0 14 Iowa 8/26/13 12/20/13 17.0 14 1/21/14 5/16/14 17.0 14 Maryland 9/3/13 12/21/13 16.2 13 1/27/14 5/21/14 16.6 14 Michigan 9/2/13 12/20/13 16.0 11 1/8/14 5/1/14 16.4 12 MSU 8/28/13 12/13/13 15.6 12 1/6/14 5/2/14 17.0 14 Minnesota 9/2/13 12/19/13 16.0 12 1/21/14 5/17/14 17.2 14 Nebraska 8/26/13 12/20/13 17.0 13 1/13/14 5/9/14 17.0 14 Ohio State 8/21/13 12/11/13 16.2 11 1/6/14 4/29/14 16.4 13 Penn State 8/26/13 12/20/13 17.0 14 1/13/14 5/9/14 17.0 14 Rutgers 9/3/13 12/23/13 16.6 12 1/21/14 5/14/14 16.6 13 UT Austin 8/28/13 12/17/13 16.2 12 1/13/14 5/13/14 17.6 14 TX A&M 8/26/13 12/11/13 15.6 12 1/13/14 5/7/14 16.6 12 Wisconsin 9/3/13 12/21/13 16.2 13 1/21/14 5/17/14 17.2 14 Peer Mean 8/27/13 12/17/13 16.5 12.2 1/14/14 5/10/14 16.9 13.5 aWeb addresses to academic calendars are found in Appendix A.

For the 2013-14 academic year, the Fall 2013 term typically started August 27, with finals ending December 17th (Table 2). The typical Spring 2014 term runs from January 14th to May 10th, 2014. Start dates for fall term range from August 19th to 3rd; while end dates range from December 11th to December 23rd. Spring start dates range from January 6th to the 27th, while finals end between April 29th and May 21st. Given the HLC requirements of a credit hour, there is little variability in the length of academic calendars, although the use of time varies. In addition to the number of total calendar weeks, the number of “full class” weeks, or weeks with class Monday through Friday are tallied. This metric is especially important for courses with multiple sections or laboratories because an entire week of class can be lost if class does not meet for one day because of

4 a break or holiday. While the number of Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays can be equalized across a semester, instructors of multi-section courses strongly prefer to keep the class at the same pace each week. Their rationale stems from the challenge of coordinating the schedules of course coordinators, lab managers, teaching assistants, etc. Calendars may not have “full class” week schedules for three reasons. First, the semester may start or end midweek. Second, holidays such as , Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and Martin Luther King Day, etc. are part of the calendar. Third, every university has a week of , and some also have scheduled breaks during fall semester. The average fall term of 16.5 calendar weeks, supports 12.2 “full class” weeks (Table 2). Some universities have as few as 10 “full class” weeks, while others have as many as 14 weeks. In spring term, the average of 16.9 calendar weeks is accompanied with 13.5 “full class” weeks. In spring the range of “full class” weeks is from 12 to 14.

Thus, the structure of an academic calendar can lead to more “full class” weeks. E.g., by combining fall break with Thanksgiving break, Penn State and Iowa have 14 “full class” weeks in the fall. In contrast the University of Florida only has 10 “full class” weeks in the fall because of a mid-week start, Labor Day, fall break, Veterans Day, and Thanksgiving. The number of “full class” weeks in spring semester is more consistent across the universities, most likely because there are fewer holidays. While all peer universities offer a full week of spring break, breaks are less common in the fall. There is no fall break at Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, Rutgers, UT Austin, Texas A&M, or Wisconsin. Additional information is obtained by considering the allocation of days in a term as opposed to weeks (Table 3). Compared to the peer universities, Purdue has the most instructional days (class, reading days, and exams), meeting for 80 days a term as opposed to the peer average of 77.6 days during fall and 78.8 days in spring (Table 3). It is unknown whether peer universities have a ‘dead week’ policy like Purdue. Half of the peer universities have at least one reading day between the last day of class and final exams, with a full week at Cal-Berkeley (Table 2). Besides Purdue, 9 peer institutions have 6 days of final exams. Like Purdue, 7 peer institutions (Arizona State, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, UT Austin, and Wisconsin) have Saturday finals, while finals at Michigan and Rutgers start mid-week and carryover to a second week after no exams on the weekend. Eight other peers have a 5 day final examination period as opposed to 6 days, with 4 days of final exams at Texas A&M. Summer session calendars vary widely among the peer institutions (Table 4). Five institutions start summer with a 3-week term, five start with a 4-week term, one starts with a 5-week term, six start with a 6-week term, and the two Michigan universities have two 7-week terms. Fifteen of the 19 institutions offer a great deal of flexibility in summer calendars, while the other four institutions have two sessions. Two universities, Iowa and Maryland, also offer a 3-week winter session between Fall and Spring term. The weeks in the year from August 12, 2013 through August 15, 2014 were allocated to fall, spring, summer, or to weeks between terms. The weeks between terms includes time for faculty preparation, as well as time for determining final grades. Moreover this time is critical for refurbishing classrooms, laboratories, and residence halls. The typical year has 16.5 weeks in the fall term, 16.9 weeks in spring term, 12.0 weeks in summer session, and 7.8 weeks between terms (Table 5). Thus, time is allocated as 31, 32, 22, and 14 percent to fall term, spring term, other terms, and between terms, respectively. On average, the time dedicated to a summer session is 71.7% of the typical fall/spring term.

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Table 3. Allocation of Days per Semester, for Fall and Spring Term, 2013-14 Days in Fall Class Days Exams Days Reading Days Instructional Break Days Holidays Total Purdue 74 6 0 80 3 3 86 ASU 71 6 0 77 3 3 83 Cal 68 5 5 78 3 4 85 Florida 70 6 2 78 2 4 84 Ga Tech 75 5 0 80 2 3 85 Illinois 72 6 1 79 3 3 85 IU 72 5 0 77 5 3 85 Iowa 74 5 0 79 3 3 85 Maryland 72 6 0 78 0 3 81 Michigan 68 6 1 75 2 3 80 MSU 70 5 0 75 0 3 78 Minnesota 70 6 1 77 0 3 80 Nebraska 74 5 0 79 3 3 85 Ohio State 70 5 1 76 1 4 81 Penn State 74 5 0 79 3 3 85 Rutgers 70 6 2 78 0 5 83 UT Austin 70 6 2 78 0 3 81 TX A&M 69 4 2 75 0 3 78 Wisconsin 72 6 0 78 0 3 81 Peer Fall Days 71.2 5.4 0.9 77.6 1.7 3.3 82.5 Days in Spring Class Days Exams Days Reading Days Instructional Break Days Holidays Total Purdue 74 6 0 80 5 1 86 ASU 74 6 0 80 5 1 86 Cal 69 5 5 79 5 1 85 Florida 72 6 2 80 5 1 86 Ga Tech 74 5 0 79 5 1 85 Illinois 72 6 1 79 5 1 85 IU 74 5 0 79 5 1 85 Iowa 74 5 0 79 5 1 85 Maryland 72 5 1 78 5 0 83 Michigan 69 6 1 76 5 1 82 MSU 74 5 0 79 5 1 85 Minnesota 74 6 0 80 5 1 86 Nebraska 74 5 0 79 5 1 85 Ohio State 70 5 1 76 5 1 82 Penn State 74 5 0 79 5 1 85 Rutgers 70 5 2 77 7 1 85 UT Austin 74 6 2 82 5 1 88 TX A&M 70 4 3 77 7 1 85 Wisconsin 74 6 0 80 5 1 86 Peer Spring 72.4 5.3 1.0 78.8 5.0 0.9 84.7

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Table 4. Weeks per Summer 1 and Summer 2 Terms Summer Summer Total Days of Summer Notes University 1 2 Instruction 60 Also offered two 6-week sessions beginning Purdue 4 week 8 week in 2013 ASU 6 week 6 week 62 Also offer 8 week session Cal 6 week 6 week 60 Also offer 3 week, 8, and 10 week sessions Florida 6 week 6 week 60 Also offer a 13 week full term Ga Tech 6 week 6 week 60 Also offer 12 week full term Illinois 4 week 8 week 62 59 Indiana offers three 4-week, or two 6-week, Indiana 4 week 8 week or two 8-weeks or a 12-week sessions Iowa 3 week 6/8 wk 54 Also offer a 3 week term b/n Fall/Spring 60 Various length terms; also offer a 3 week Maryland 6 week 6 week session between Fall and Spring Michigan 7 week 7 week 73 Or a combined 14 week term MSU 7 week 7 week 68 Or a combined 15 week term Minnesota 3 week 8 week 55 Also offer 13 week, 10 week & 4 week terms Nebraska 3 week 5 week 64 Offered as a 8 week or a 3/5/5 week term Ohio State 4 week 8 week 58 Penn St 3 week 6 week 64 Or can take two 6-week terms Rutgers 4 week 8 week 58 UT Austin 6 week 6 week 54 Also offer 9 week and 12 week full term Texas 53 Also offer 10 week session, separate 5 week 5 week A&M scheduled finals Wisconsin 3 week 8 week 55

Two sets of academic calendars differ from the typical calendar. First, as previously mentioned, the University of Michigan is on a trimester calendar. Unlike most universities, the structure of the summer calendar is much closer to that of the typical fall/spring calendar. Michigan has 66 days of summer instruction spread across two sessions, compared to 68 and 69 days of instruction in fall and spring, respectively. Fall and spring terms both have 6 days of exams, while summer has a total of 4 days of exams. In total, the summer as a percent to the academic year term is 90.1 percent at Michigan, compared to 71.7 percent at the typical university (Table 5). Second, the University of Florida, Arizona State University, and the have recently modified their calendars. In 2013, the University of Florida began admitting students to the Innovation Academy.4 The Innovation Academy admits students to one of 29 majors, and the students only attend courses on campus during spring and summer terms. The first class had roughly 300 students, with the expectation that the program will grow to 2,000 students. According to Joseph Glover, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, “This could be the prelude to a year round calendar” (Hoover, 2013). Florida continues to offer the traditional fall/spring 16 semester, with a 12 week summer term.

4 http://innovationacademy.aa.ufl.edu/

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Table 5. Number of Weeks, by Fall, Spring, Summer and Between Terms, 2013-14 Summer Weeks Summer/ [Ave University Fall Term Spring Term Sessions Between Terms of Spring & Fall] Number of weeks Percent Purdue 17.2 17.2 12.0 7.0 69.8% ASU 16.6 17.2 12.4 7.2 73.4% Cal 17.0 17.0 12.0 7.6 70.6% Florida 16.8 17.2 12.0 7.4 70.6% Ga Tech 17.0 17.0 12.0 7.0 70.6% Illinois 17.0 17.0 12.4 7.0 72.9% Indiana 17.0 17.0 11.8 7.2 69.4% Iowa1 17.0 17.0 10.8 8.2 63.5% Maryland1 16.2 16.6 12.4 8.4 73.2% Michigan 16.0 16.4 14.6 6.0 90.1% MSU 15.6 17.0 13.6 6.8 83.4% Minnesota 16.0 17.2 11.0 9.2 66.3% Nebraska 17.0 17.0 12.8 6.2 75.3% Ohio State 16.2 16.4 11.6 8.8 71.2% Penn State 17.0 17.0 12.8 6.2 75.3% Rutgers 16.6 16.6 11.6 8.2 69.9% UT Austin 16.2 17.6 10.8 9.2 63.9% TX A&M 15.6 16.6 10.6 10.2 65.8% Wisconsin 16.2 17.2 11.0 9.0 65.9% Peer Mean 16.5 16.9 12.0 7.8 71.7% NOTES: aFrom August 12, 2013 through August 15, 2014. 1Does not include 3 week winter sessions at Iowa or Maryland.

Arizona State University split its fall/spring terms into three sessions, “A and B sessions, featuring intense courses that last seven and a half weeks each, and a C session, which runs the full 15 weeks” (Blumenstyk, 2013). In part the motivation is to help ASU better compete in the online market. As with Florida, the changes to the calendar at ASU were limited to the academic term, summer sessions at ASU are 73 percent of the academic year (Table 5). In the past year, the Ohio State University shifted from a quarter to a semester system used by other Ohio universities, to facilitate transfers. Like ASU, the fall and spring terms are divided into mini- sessions as well as full term. “This fall only about 13 percent of the 9,000-plus classes at Ohio State’s main campus are being offered in mini-sessions, but the portion is expected to grow”( Blumenstyk, 2013). Summer sessions are 71 percent of fall/spring at Ohio State.

The Structure of Three Academic Calendars The structure of an academic calendar is shaped by three factors: 1) federal regulations that define a credit (which in term inform how many days of instruction are offered), 2) the schedule of official

8 university holidays, and 3) university regulations and guidelines. The academic calendar must comply with the federal definition of a credit hour to qualify for federal funding. The schedule of official university holidays is generally consistent across university calendars. Thus, the differences in academic calendars are largely driven by the structure of constructs arising from academic regulations and guidelines. In this section, the three factors are defined for the current Purdue academic calendar and the unbalanced trimester at the University of Michigan, and assumptions are made for the proposed balanced trimester.

Days of Instruction per Term Purdue has 74 days of instruction per fall/spring term and 6 days of final exams (Table 3). The days per term5 at the University of Michigan range from a minimum of 67 days to 69 days, “although the accrediting body recommends 70 days.”6 Michigan has 6 exam days in fall and spring, and 2 exam days in each of the two seven-week summer term. There must also be at least one reading day per term. To arrive at the days of instruction for the balanced trimester, the number of minutes is assumed to be the same as the current Purdue calendar. Purdue defines a credit hour as 750 minutes of contact time, in accordance with the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) standards. As a result, Monday/Wednesday/ Friday (MWF) classes meet for 50 minutes and Tuesday/Thursday (TH) classes meet for 75 minutes. If the weeks of instruction were to fall from 15 to 13 weeks, the 50 minute class period must increase to 58 minutes to meet the time requirements of a credit hour. Practically, we would choose to offer a 60 minute class. The 75 minute class for TH schedules would increase to 90 minutes. A 3-credit course taught during fall semester 2013 at Purdue lasted 2,200 minutes on MWF and 2,250 minutes on TH (Table 6). With respect to the HLC guidelines, Purdue is currently at 98% of the expectation for a MWF class and 100% of a TH class. From Table 3, it is known that the average peer institution university has less scheduled class time, at 95% to 97% of the HLC guidelines. Dividing the 2,250 minutes required to meet the credit hour definition for a 3 credit class by 60 and 90 minutes results in MWF calendars with 37.5 days and TH calendars with 25 days of instruction, respectively. The number of MWF class days is rounded to 37 days.

Table 6. Instructional Time and Days per Term for 3 Credit Course Current Purdue Typical Peer Balanced Trimester Characteristics for 3 credit class Calendar University Calendar Calendar Number of class sessions for MWF (days) 44.0 42.7 37.0 Length of Class Period (minutes) 50 50 60 Minutes per 3 credit class 2,200 2,135 2,220 Percent of HLC MWF 97.8% 94.9% 98.7% Number of class sessions for TH (days) 30.0 29.1 25.0 Length of Class Period (minutes) 75 75 90 Minutes per 3 credit class 2,250 2,183 2,250 Percent of HLC TH 100% 97.0% 100%

5The University of Michigan defines their semesters as Fall, Winter, and Spring/Summer. Their Winter term is the same as all peer institutions spring term. Thus, the Michigan Winter term is defined to be Spring term. 6www.regents.umich.edu/meetings/05-13/2013-05-X-3.pdf

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University Holidays It is assumed that the current university holidays will be celebrated under all scenarios. Holidays recognized in 2013-14 are Independence Day (July 4), Labor Day (September 3), Thanksgiving Holiday (November 22 & 23), Holiday (December 24 & 25), President's Designated Holiday (December 31), ’s Day (January 1), Martin Luther King Day (January 21), and Memorial Day (May 27).7 Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday in September and can occur from September 1st through the 7th. Thanksgiving is a federal holiday on the fourth Thursday of November, and can range from November 22 to the 28th. Martin Luther King Day is federal holiday celebrated on the third Monday of January, and can occur from January 15th to the 21st. Memorial Day is observed on the last Monday of May, and can occur from May 25th to the 31st.

University Regulations and Guidelines Purdue’s current regulations8 pertaining to the academic calendar are:  The first semester shall: o Begin on either the 3rd or 4th Monday of August. o Be in recess Monday and Tuesday of the 8th week, and Wednesday through Saturday of Thanksgiving week. o Classes will end on Saturday of the 16th week, followed by six days of final exams to run Monday through Saturday during the 17th week of the term. o Final exams or classes shall not occur after December 20.  The second semester shall: o Begin on either the 1st or 2nd Monday of January, (but not before January 7). o Be in recess during the tenth week. o Classes will end on Saturday of the 16th week, followed by six days of final exams to run Monday through Saturday during the 17th week of the term.  The summer session shall begin on the next Monday following the spring commencement and will be comprised of one 4-week and one 8-week, or two 6-week module (s) or other configurations as approved by the Provost Office. The University of Michigan’s academic calendar guidelines9 are:  For all terms: o There must be a minimum of 13 class meetings for each day of the week. o There must be at least one study day before exams begin (including weekends). o Football games are not a factor in setting the fall academic calendar. o Do not provide guidelines for the timing of breaks.  The first semester shall: o Begin on the 1st Tuesday after the 1st Monday of September (to start after Labor Day). o Classes will end on Tuesday of the 15th week. o Study days are Wednesday of the 15th week. o Six days of exams will run Thursday and Friday of the 15th week and Monday through Thursday of the 16th week. o The last day of finals shall not occur after December 23.

7 http://www.purdue.edu/hr/Benefits/holidays.html 8 http://www.purdue.edu/studentregulations/regulations_procedures/calendar.html 9 www.regents.umich.edu/meetings/05-13/2013-05-X-3.pdf

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 The second semester shall: o Begin on the 1st Wednesday after the 1st Monday in January (to start after January 2). o Classes will end on Tuesday of the 15th week. o Study days are Wednesday of the 15th week. o Six days of exams will run Thursday and Friday of the 15th week and Monday through Thursday of the 16th week. o Exams are not scheduled for the 1st day of .  The first summer session shall: o Begin on the next Monday following the spring commencement and will be comprised of two 7-week terms. o Each term shall have at least 1 study day and 2 exam days. The proposed balanced trimester calendar is built with two key constructs. First, the calendar is built with 14-week fall and spring semesters (including one week of exams), and with two 7-week summer sessions built around a summer break during the week with the 4th of July. This week is chosen for a summer break to coincide with Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) Rule 15-3.4 that prohibits all contact between athletes and coaches (including conditioning) during this week.10 For many families with high school aged children this is one of the few weeks available for family vacations during the summer. Second, the academic calendar is built to maximize the number of “full class” weeks, or weeks with class Monday through Friday. The maximum number of “full class” weeks per term is 12 (37/3 or 25/2). Thus, there can be 12 “full class” weeks per term and one week with 2 days of class. The predisposition for “full class” weeks also leads to beginning fall and spring terms during or after weeks with Labor Day and Martin Luther King Day, respectively.  The summer session shall: o Have a have a week long break during the week with the Fourth of July holiday. o Have two 7-week sessions, one ending the week before July 4, the other beginning the week after July 4. o Each summer session will have at least 32 days of class and 2 days of final exams.  The fall semester shall: o Have at least one full week following the end of the 2nd summer term. This means that the fall term will begin from September 7 to September 13. o Combine fall break and Thanksgiving break for a week long break, rather than having two partial weeks in the fall. o Have six days of exams that will run on the 14th week of the semester. o The last day of finals shall not occur after December 22.  The spring semester shall: o Begin on Thursday of the week with Martin Luther King Day holiday. Thus, classes will begin between January 18 and January 24. o Have a week long break during the 8th week of the semester. o Have six days of exams that will run on the 14th week of the semester.

A Comparison of Academic Calendars Academic calendars are obtained or built per the assumptions in the prior section for 11 years, from 2013-14 through 2023-24 for the current Purdue calendar, the University of Michigan unbalanced

10 http://www.ihsaa.org/portals/0/Flip%20Book/By-Laws_2/index.html

11 trimester, and the proposed balanced trimester. Purdue calendars are published through the year 2026- 27.11 The University of Michigan calendar is available through 2016, after which the guidelines from footnote 9 are applied.12 The balanced trimester calendar is constructed observing the assumptions in the prior section. In Appendix B, the three calendars are aligned for 2013-14. The same process was followed for each academic year from 2013-14 through 2023-24. The year is presumed to start with the beginning of fall term. Color shading is used to identify days with class (in yellow), university holidays (in blue), final exams (in red), student breaks (in tan), reading days (in light green), and days between terms (in violet). If the column “Full Class?” is “Yes” it means that classes are taught from Monday through Friday for that particular week. A break day is defined as a day that students are not scheduled for class, reading, final exams, or is not between terms of the year. Each of the calendars has a rhythm that is consistent across the 11 academic years. The current Purdue calendar has:  a 17-week fall term,  usually a 3-week break between fall and spring (which can occasionally be 4-weeks),  a 17-week spring term,  a 1-week break between spring and summer terms,  a 12-week summer session (divided into 4 and 8 week sessions), and  ends with 2 weeks of break before the next academic year begins (Table 7). Thus, Purdue’s academic year includes 46 weeks with scheduled instruction or finals, and 6.2 weeks of breaks between terms. The range of starting and ending dates by term are found in Table 8. While there are 46 weeks of instruction with Purdue’s current calendar, only 35 weeks are “full class” weeks (Table 7). The last week of the fall and spring term are not included as a “full class” week because of the restrictions on course activities associated with “dead week”. These weeks can be relatively unimportant for lecture based courses because there may be no homework, exams, quizzes, etc. In contrast, these weeks are heavily utilized by lab based or project intensive courses. The proposed balanced trimester calendar has:  a 15-week fall term,  a 4-week break between fall and spring,  a 15-week spring term,  either a 1 or 2 week break between spring and summer terms,  a 15-week summer session (divided into two 7 week sessions, with a weeklong break between sessions), and  ends with either 1 or 2 weeks of break before the next academic year begins (Table 7). Compared to the current Purdue calendar, the balanced trimester has one less week of total instruction (Table 7). However, the number of “full class” weeks is the same for the current calendar and the balanced trimester, at 35 weeks. If the two summer terms would be combined, there would be a 12th full class week in the summer term as well. One other difference is the structure of fall and spring are identical for the balanced trimester, while under the current calendar, there is one more “full class” week in the fall than in the spring. This arises by as consolidating fall and Thanksgiving breaks.

11 http://www.purdue.edu/registrar/Calendars/ 12 http://ro.umich.edu/calendar/

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Table 7. Number of Average Weeks by Term, Purdue, Balanced Trimester, and Unbalanced Trimester Unbalanced Trimester Current Purdue Balanced Trimester (Michigan) Term Number of weeks Number of weeks Number of weeks Calendar Full Class Calendar Full Class Calendar Full Class Fall Term 17.0 12.0a 15.0b 12.0 16.0 11.0 Term Break fall/spring 3.2 na 4.0 na 1.4 na Spring Term 17.0b 13.0a 15.0b 12.0 17.0b 12.0 Term Break spring/summer 1.0 na 1.6 na 0.0 na Summer 1 4.0 3.0 7.0 5.0 8.0 5.0 Summer 2 8.0 7.0 8.0b 6.0 7.9 5.4 Term Break summer/fall 2.0 na 1.5 na 1.7 na Total weeks with instruction 46.0 35.0 45.0 35.0 48.9 33.4 Total break weeks 6.2 na 7.1 na 3.1 na Total weeks 52.2 35.0 52.1 35.0 52.0 33.4 aThe week before finals is not included as a “full class” week because of “dead week” limitations on class activities. bIncludes a scheduled weeklong break during the term.

Table 8. A Comparison of the Current and Proposed Academic Calendars, 2013-14 to 2023-24 Current Purdue Unbalanced Trimester Typical Time Frame Balanced Trimester Calendar (Michigan) Fall Term start 8/19 to 8/25 9/7 to 9/13 9/2 to 9/8 Fall Term end 12/14 to 12/20 12/16 to 12/22 12/19 to 12/23 Term break fall/spring start 12/15 to 12/21 12/17 to 12/23 12/20 to 12/24 Term break fall/spring end 1/6 to 1/12 1/17 to 1/23 1/2 to 1/8 Spring Term start 1/7 to 1/13 1/18 to 1/24 1/3 to 1/9 Spring Term end 5/4 to 5/10 4/27 to 5/4 4/25 to 5/2 Term break spring/summer start 5/5 to 5/11 4/28 to 5/5 4/26 to 5/3 Term break spring/summer end 5/12 to 5/18 6/9 to 5/15 4/29 to 5/6 Summer 2014 Term I start 5/13 to 5/19 5/10 to 5/16 4/30 to 5/7 Summer 2014 Term I end 6/8 to 6/14 6/26 to 7/2 6/21 to 6/27 Summer 2014 Term II start 6/10 to 6/16 7/6 to 7/12 6/26 to 7/3 Summer 2014 Term II end 8/3 to 8/9 8/20 to 8/26 8/17 to 8/23 Term break summer/fall start 8/3 to 8/9 8/21 to 8/27 8/18 to 8/24 Term break summer/fall end 8/17 5o 8/23 9/2 to 9/8 9/1 to 9/7

The balanced trimester calendar has a 4-week break between fall and spring term, which happens every five or six years with the current calendar. The breaks between spring/summer and summer/fall will be 1 or 2 weeks, depending on the timing of the 4th of July. The range of start and end dates is found in Table 8. The University of Michigan calendar has:

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 a 16-week fall term,  either a 1 or 2 week break between fall and spring terms,  a 17-week spring term,  a 1 day break between spring and summer terms,  a 16-week summer session (divided into two 7 week sessions), and  ends with 2 weeks of break before the next academic year begins (Table 7). Michigan’s unbalanced trimester has the fewest break weeks per year at 3.3 weeks (Table 7). Despite the heavy utilization of the calendar, Michigan also has the fewest “full class” weeks, with only 33.4 weeks. The start and end dates are found in Table 8. A comparison of the allocation of days finds that the current Purdue calendar and the proposed trimester are consistent from term to term (Table 9). However, that is not the case at Michigan. In fact the number of days can vary from term to term, as well as from year to year. The lack of consistency in the basic structure of the calendar is viewed as a weakness because it will require adjustments to the structure of a class depending upon the year and term.

Table 9. Allocation of Days per Term, Current, Balanced, and Unbalanced Calendar Purdue Class Days Exams Days Reading Days Instructional Break Days Holidays Total Fall 74.0 6.0 0.0 80.0 3.0 3.0 86.0 Spring 74.0 6.0 0.0 80.0 5.0 1.0 86.0 Summer I 19.0 0.0 0.0 19.0 0.0 1.0 20.0 Summer II 39.0 0.0 0.0 39.0 0.0 1.0 40.0 Total 206.0 12.0 0.0 218.0 8.0 6.0 232.0 Balanced Tri Class Days Exams Days Reading Days Instructional Break Days Holidays Total Fall 62.0 6.0 0.0 68.0 3.0 2.0 73.0 Spring 62.0 6.0 0.0 68.0 5.0 1.0 74.0 Summer I 32.0 2.0 0.0 34.0 4.0 1.0 35.0 Summer II 32.0 2.0 0.0 34.0 4.0 1.0 39.0 Total 188.0 16.0 0.0 204.0 12.0 5.0 221.0 Michigan Class Days Exams Days Reading Days Instructional Break Days Holidays Total Fall 67.0 6.0 1.0 74.0 2.0 3.6 79.6 Spring 69.0 6.0 1.0 76.0 5.0 1.6 82.6 Summer I 33.9 2.0 1.1 37.0 1.0 1.0 39.0 Summer II 33.7 2.0 0.9 33.6 1.5 1.0 39.1 Total 203.6 16.0 4.0 223.6 9.5 7.3 240.4

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Discussion and Ramifications Again, the focus of this analysis is only to consider the feasibility of the alternative academic calendars and the use of instructional time. 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 Michigan calendar is viewed with disfavor because of its lack of consistency. Three implications arise from the adoption of a balanced trimester. First, 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. Beginning classes during the weeks with Labor Day or Martin Luther King Day helps maximize the number of “full class” weeks. This also would work well with the schedule of Boiler Gold Rush in the fall term. Conversely, if the first 12 weeks of class are “full class” weeks, the last day of scheduled class would fall on a Tuesday. Wednesday could be designated as a reading day, with finals to begin on Thursday. After taking Sunday as a break, finals would resume on Monday and end on Tuesday. This would provide more time for the faculty to grade student work, who now may give a final on Saturday and spend the rest of the weekend grading to meet the Tuesday deadline to submit grades. Second, the balanced trimester calendar offers some advantages for summer sessions. The new summer session calendar has 34 and 35 days available for instruction in sessions 1 and 2, respectively. The difference arises because of the Memorial Day holiday. 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. Fall/Spring TH courses are scheduled to meet 25 times with the balanced trimester calendar. With 32 days of instruction available over 7 weeks in a summer session, a TH course needing 25 days for lecture can be offered in the identical structure as it would be in fall/spring, i.e., for 90 minutes per day. Some modifications would be required for a MWF course from Fall/Spring to fit into the 32 days of available instruction in a summer schedule. If the course were to meet every day, it would need to meet for 70 minutes instead of 60 minutes. Finally, the 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. It is important to note that switching to a balanced trimester may affect the use of instructional time in at least five ways: 1) the hours of operation, 2) evening exams, 3) final exams, 4) dead week, and 5) drop/add deadlines. As such, a shift in the calendar should also consider the whether any of these policies need to be amended. The remainder of this section simply identifies how a shift to a balanced trimester might affect these closely related policies.

1. Hours of operation13 Purdue’s regularly scheduled classes meet from 7:30 am through 5:45 pm, Monday through Friday. MWF classes have ten 50-minute class periods (with 10 minutes between classes), while TH classes have seven 75-minutes class periods (with 15 minutes between classes). To comply with the definition of a credit hour, class times must increase to 60 minutes for MWF and 90 minutes for TH. In addition, the

13 Technically, Purdue Regulations (http://www.purdue.edu/univregs/academicprocedures/index.html) do not define the hours of operation. Implicitly they are inferred from the evening examination regulation.

15 time between classes is assumed to be 15 minutes for each day of the week. Thus, unless the hours of operation change, there would be 8 class periods on MWF and 6 class periods on TH. Given current space utilization (especially for large classrooms and some lab courses), a reduction in the number of class periods per day will have two adverse consequences. First, students may find it more difficult to build a working class schedule with fewer time slots from which to select courses. Second, and more importantly, unless the length of the day was to increase, capacity for undergraduates would fall by 5 to 10 percent, to roughly 27,000 students (Murray). This may be ameliorated by a steady shift of students taking more classes online, growth in summer enrollment, the potential for more study abroad, and a calendar that promotes an expansion of cooperative education. In contrast, extending the day has three potential adverse consequences. First, it would create conflicts with student activities that meet early in the evening. Second, it would increase the number of class times that meet outside of “prime” academic time. Attendance issues might arise for classes ending at 7:30 Friday night. Third, it would conflict with existing policies for night exams. A Purdue Student Government (PSG) recommendation has asked to move the start time of the day back to 8:00 am because studies suggest that later start times improve attendance. PSG is also recommending that the hours of operation be extended to add evening courses. This would give students more scheduling options, but as mentioned likely would present conflicts with evening examinations or student activities. The effect of increasing the length of class will either reduce the number of available class periods per week (from 17 to 14) or require that we lengthen the hours of operation.

2. Evening examinations14 In November 2011, PSG Recommendation 11-6 encouraged the faculty to review the use of evening examinations. Current policy generally allows for two 60-minute evening exam periods per night, Monday through Thursday. Extending the hours of operation will create conflicts with evening exams, which are scheduled from 6:30 to 7:30 pm and 8:00 to 9:00 pm. Three main reasons are provided for the use of evening exams. First, evening examinations are viewed as important in multidivision courses because students from sections occurring later in the week may have an advantage by learning about the structure of an examination. Second, some courses schedule evening examinations to reduce time pressure found during the regularly scheduled course. Finally, some courses use evening examinations to lessen cheating by moving the class to a larger room, allowing for alternate seating. Students suggest that the use of night examinations creates conflicts with their participation in student organizations, conflicts for students with more than one night exam on the same evening, and presents challenges for students with work or family responsibilities in the evening. It is probably not practical to extend the length of day beyond 9:00 pm to give an evening exam. However, even if the day is extended, it may be possible to have four evening exam periods per week. Limiting the number of evening exams will require that guidelines be established to set priorities for courses eligible for evening exams. Extending the day will require either limiting the number of evening exams or starting them at later times.

14 http://www.purdue.edu/univregs/academicprocedures/examinations.html

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3. Final examinations15 Currently, final exams are scheduled across 29 two-hour time slots over a 6-day period (or 5 periods per day, with no late exam on Saturday). The key guiding principles are to minimize: 1) direct student conflicts, 2) the number of students with more than two exams per day, and 3) students with consecutive exams. A single course-wide exam can be scheduled for any course. PSG Recommendation 11-5 requested that a Final Examination Task Force be created to review the regulations and policies governing the scheduling of final examinations. The students seek a policy similar to that at the University of Michigan or the University of Minnesota where the time of the final examination is known when a student registers for the class. The students also report that many scheduled examinations are not held. One way to adopt the PSG recommendation would be to align finals with the 17 distinct class periods. This would allow us to complete finals in five days instead of six days. By offering 3 or 4 finals a day, there would likely be fewer instances of more than two finals per day. Moreover, the student would know of the challenge when they enroll in the class as they build their schedule. However, it would also mean there are no course-wide examinations for multidivisional classes. If the number of class periods per week change, the policy for scheduling finals should be considered.

4. Dead week16 Dead week is the unofficial name for the current academic regulation for the academic year and calendar that prevents examinations or quizzes in the week preceding final examinations. This week is heavily utilized by and important for many final lab exams and final presentations for project based courses. Some members of the faculty suggest that the current academic regulation for “dead week” results in little instructional activity during the week and question its continued validity. They would replace it with a reading day. Students state in some cases the instructor and students agree to ignore the regulation and take the final exam early. There is a concern because while the instructor typically states that everyone must agree, students feel peer pressure to agree with the crowd. Shortening the number of instructional weeks by shifting to a balance trimester puts a premium on class time. In turn, this requires that we reconsider the dead week policy because it limits the opportunity to use the class time for some classes.

5. Drop/add deadline17 Currently, students may change drop a class without approvals (signatures by the instructor/advisor) for 2-weeks while they have a 1-week period to add a course without approvals. Some argue, especially with a shorter semester, that the two time periods should both be 1-week. Faculty members suggest that having a more accurate class roster earlier will help them launch the course at the beginning of the term. Accurate course rosters are especially important for courses using groups or Team Based Learning. The students point out that course descriptions found in MyPurdue are cryptic, and it is difficult to understand the expectations of a course, before sitting in the class for several periods. The

15 http://www.purdue.edu/univregs/academicprocedures/calendar.html 16 http://www.purdue.edu/univregs/academicprocedures/calendar.html 17 http://www.purdue.edu/univregs/academicprocedures/registration.html

17 students also advocate that copies of prior term syllabi be made available so students have more information about courses as they build their course schedule. As with dead week, shortening the number of instructional weeks by shifting to a balance trimester puts a premium on class time. In turn, this requires that we reconsider the drop/add policy.

Summary In conclusion, a calendar with 14-week fall/spring semesters and two 7-week summer sessions is technically feasible, and in some ways is an improvement on the current calendar. It provides an opportunity to take a careful step towards a year round university calendar. But switching the calendar will require a number of other changes on campus. Foremost among the questions would be what the nature of the faculty appointment is.18 In addition, a list almost 100 questions were raised at a University Senate meeting in October 2012 (Dooley). If the campus feels there is merit in this calendar, the next step is to investigate those questions.

Sources Blumenstyk, Goldie. (2013). “Academic Calendars Enter a Season of Change.” The Chronicle of Higher Education. Article 141895, September 30, 2013. Dooley, Frank. (2012) “Questions Related to Trimesters.” http://www.purdue.edu/provost/backup/initiatives/trimester/documents/Trimester%20Questi ons%209%20November%202012%20%20FJD.pdf Higher Learning Commission. (2011). Protocol for Peer Reviewers Reviewing Credit Hours Under the Higher Learning Commission’s New Policies. Chicago, IL. http://ncahlc.org/Information-for- Institutions/federal-compliance-program.html. Hoover, Eric. (2013). “For Some at U. of Florida, Spring and Summer Are the New Academic Year.” The Chronicle of Higher Education. Article 137359, February 13, 2013. Murray, Keith. (2011). “Balanced Trimester Plan.” Memo to Dr. Sands. See additional documents for October 15, 2012 University Senate meeting, https://www.purdue.edu/senate/meetings.cfm. Sands, Tim. “Senate Decadal Update: Jan. 23, 2012.” Report to the University Senate, January 23, 2012. https://www.purdue.edu/senate/meetings/index.html

18 http://www.purdue.edu/policies/human-resources/c-26.html

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Appendix A – Links for Calendars Institution Link for calendar Arizona State https://students.asu.edu/academic-calendar#fall13 Cal-Berkeley http://registrar.berkeley.edu/CalendarDisp.aspx?terms=current Florida https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/Pages/dates-and-deadlines.aspx Georgia Tech http://www.registrar.gatech.edu/calendar/ Illinois http://senate.illinois.edu/ep0733.asp Indiana http://enrollmentbulletin.indiana.edu/pages/nineyr.php Iowa http://www.registrar.uiowa.edu/calendars/fiveyearcalendar.aspx Maryland http://www.provost.umd.edu/calendar/13.html Michigan http://www.ro.umich.edu/calendar/ MSU https://www.reg.msu.edu/ROInfo/Calendar/Academic20132014.asp Minnesota www1.umn.edu/usenate/calendars/13-14tc.html Nebraska www.unl.edu/regrec/calendar/calendar_main.shtml Ohio State registrar.osu.edu/staff/bigcal.asp Penn State registrar.psu.edu/academic_calendar/calendar_index.cfm Purdue www.purdue.edu/registrar/Calendars/Academic%20Calendars/2013-14.pdf Rutgers http://scheduling.rutgers.edu/calendar.shtml Texas Austin http://registrar.utexas.edu/calendars/13-14 Texas A&M http://registrar.tamu.edu/general/calendar.aspx Wisconsin www.secfac.wisc.edu/acadcal/20112016.pdf

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Appendix B. Current and Proposed Academic Calendar, Fall 2013 through Summer 2014

Current Purdue Calendar Proposed Purdue Balanced Trimester Calendar Michigan Unbalanced Trimester Calendar Full Full Full Mon Tue Wed Thur Fri Sat Mon Tue Wed Thur Fri Sat Mon Tue Wed Thur Fri Sat class class class Yellow shading = Class Blue Shading = holiday Red Shading = Final exams Tan Shading = Student Break Green Shading = Reading Day Violet Shading = B/n Terms 8/19 8/20 8/21 8/22 8/23 Yes 8/19 8/20 8/21 8/22 8/23 Prior Yr 8/19 8/20 8/21 8/22 8/23

8/26 8/27 8/28 8/29 8/30 Yes 8/26 8/27 8/28 8/29 8/30 8/26 8/27 8/28 8/29 8/30

9/2 9/3 9/4 9/5 9/6 No 9/2 9/3 9/4 9/5 9/6 9/2 9/3 9/4 9/5 9/6 No

9/9 9/10 9/11 9/12 9/13 Yes 9/9 9/10 9/11 9/12 9/13 No 9/9 9/10 9/11 9/12 9/13 Yes

9/16 9/17 9/18 9/19 9/20 Yes 9/16 9/17 9/18 9/19 9/20 Yes 9/16 9/17 9/18 9/19 9/20 Yes

9/23 9/24 9/25 9/26 9/27 Yes 9/23 9/24 9/25 9/26 9/27 Yes 9/23 9/24 9/25 9/26 9/27 Yes

9/30 10/1 10/2 10/3 10/4 Yes 9/30 10/1 10/2 10/3 10/4 Yes 9/30 10/1 10/2 10/3 10/4 Yes

10/7 10/8 10/9 10/10 10/12 No 10/7 10/8 10/9 10/10 10/12 Yes 10/7 10/8 10/9 10/10 10/12 Yes

10/14 10/15 10/16 10/17 10/18 Yes 10/14 10/15 10/16 10/17 10/18 Yes 10/14 10/15 10/16 10/17 10/18 No

10/21 10/22 10/23 10/24 10/25 Yes 10/21 10/22 10/23 10/24 10/25 Yes 10/21 10/22 10/23 10/24 10/25 Yes

10/28 10/29 10/30 10/31 11/1 Yes 10/28 10/29 10/30 10/31 11/1 Yes 10/28 10/29 10/30 10/31 11/1 Yes

11/4 11/5 11/6 11/7 11/8 Yes 11/4 11/5 11/6 11/7 11/8 Yes 11/4 11/5 11/6 11/7 11/8 Yes

11/11 11/12 11/13 11/14 11/15 Yes 11/11 11/12 11/13 11/14 11/15 Yes 11/11 11/12 11/13 11/14 11/15 Yes

11/18 11/19 11/20 11/21 11/22 Yes 11/18 11/19 11/20 11/21 11/22 Yes 11/18 11/19 11/20 11/21 11/22 Yes

11/25 11/26 11/27 11/28 11/29 No 11/25 11/26 11/27 11/28 11/29 Na 11/25 11/26 11/27 11/28 11/29 No

12/2 12/3 12/4 12/5 12/6 Dead weeks 12/2 12/3 12/4 12/5 12/6 Yes 12/2 12/3 12/4 12/5 12/6 Yes

12/9 12/10 12/11 12/12 12/13 12/14 12/9 12/10 12/11 12/12 12/13 No 12/9 12/10 12/11 12/12 12/13 No

12/16 12/17 12/18 12/19 12/20 12/16 12/17 12/18 12/19 12/20 12/21 12/16 12/17 12/18 12/19 12/20

12/23 12/24 12/25 12/26 12/27 12/23 12/24 12/25 12/26 12/27 12/23 12/24 12/25 12/26 12/27

12/30 12/31 1/1 1/2 1/3 12/30 12/31 1/1 1/2 1/3 12/30 12/31 1/1 1/2 1/3

1/6 1/7 1/8 1/9 1/10 1/6 1/7 1/8 1/9 1/10 1/6 1/7 1/8 1/9 1/10 No

1/13 1/14 1/15 1/16 1/17 Yes 1/13 1/14 1/15 1/16 1/17 1/13 1/14 1/15 1/16 1/17 Yes

1/20 1/21 1/22 1/23 1/24 No 1/20 1/21 1/22 1/23 1/24 No 1/20 1/21 1/22 1/23 1/24 No

1/27 1/28 1/29 1/30 1/31 Yes 1/27 1/28 1/29 1/30 1/31 Yes 1/27 1/28 1/29 1/30 1/31 Yes

2/3 2/4 2/5 2/6 2/7 Yes 2/3 2/4 2/5 2/6 2/7 Yes 2/3 2/4 2/5 2/6 2/7 Yes

2/10 2/11 2/12 2/13 2/14 Yes 2/10 2/11 2/12 2/13 2/14 Yes 2/10 2/11 2/12 2/13 2/14 Yes

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Current Purdue Calendar Proposed Purdue Balanced Trimester Calendar Michigan Unbalanced Trimester Calendar Full Full Full Mon Tue Wed Thur Fri Sat Mon Tue Wed Thur Fri Sat Mon Tue Wed Thur Fri Sat class class class Yellow shading = Class Blue Shading = holiday Red Shading = Final exams Tan Shading = Student Break Green Shading = Reading Day Violet Shading = B/n Terms 2/17 2/18 2/19 2/20 2/21 Yes 2/17 2/18 2/19 2/20 2/21 Yes 2/17 2/18 2/19 2/20 2/21 Yes

2/24 2/25 2/26 2/27 2/28 Yes 2/24 2/25 2/26 2/27 2/28 Yes 2/24 2/25 2/26 2/27 2/28 Yes

3/3 ¾ 3/5 3/6 3/7 Yes 3/3 3/4 3/5 3/6 3/7 Yes 3/3 3/4 3/5 3/6 3/7

3/10 3/11 3/12 3/13 3/14 Yes 3/10 3/11 3/12 3/13 3/14 3/10 3/11 3/12 3/13 3/14 Yes

3/17 3/18 3/19 3/20 3/21 3/17 3/18 3/19 3/20 3/21 Yes 3/17 3/18 3/19 3/20 3/21 Yes

3/24 3/25 3/26 3/27 3/28 Yes 3/24 3/25 3/26 3/27 3/28 Yes 3/24 3/25 3/26 3/27 3/28 Yes

3/31 4/1 4/2 4/3 4/4 Yes 3/31 4/1 4/2 4/3 4/4 Yes 3/31 4/1 4/2 4/3 4/4 Yes

4/7 4/8 4/9 4/10 4/11 Yes 4/7 4/8 4/9 4/10 4/11 Yes 4/7 4/8 4/9 4/10 4/11 Yes

4/14 4/15 4/16 4/17 4/18 Yes 4/14 4/15 4/16 4/17 4/18 Yes 4/14 4/15 4/16 4/17 4/18 Yes

4/21 4/22 4/23 4/24 4/25 Yes 4/21 4/22 4/23 4/24 4/25 Yes 4/21 4/22 4/23 4/24 4/25 No

4/28 4/29 4/30 5/1 5/2 Dead week 4/28 4/29 4/30 5/1 5/2 5/3 4/28 4/29 4/30 5/1 5/2

5/5 5/6 5/7 5/8 5/9 5/10 5/5 5/6 5/7 5/8 5/9 5/5 5/6 5/7 5/8 5/9 No

5/12 5/13 5/14 5/15 5/16 5/12 5/13 5/14 5/15 5/16 Yes 5/12 5/13 5/14 5/15 5/16 Yes

5/19 5/20 5/21 5/22 5/23 Yes 5/19 5/20 5/21 5/22 5/23 Yes 5/19 5/20 5/21 5/22 5/23 Yes

5/26 5/27 5/28 5/29 5/30 No 5/26 5/27 5/28 5/29 5/30 No 5/26 5/27 5/28 5/29 5/30 No 6/2 6/3 6/4 6/5 6/6 Yes 6/2 6/3 6/4 6/5 6/6 Yes 6/2 6/3 6/4 6/5 6/6 Yes

6/9 6/10 6/11 6/12 6/13 Yes 6/9 6/10 6/11 6/12 6/13 Yes 6/9 6/10 6/11 6/12 6/13 Yes

6/16 6/17 6/18 6/19 6/20 Yes 6/16 6/17 6/18 6/19 6/20 Yes 6/16 6/17 6/18 6/19 6/20 Yes

6/23 6/24 6/25 6/26 6/27 Yes 6/23 6/24 6/25 6/26 6/27 No 6/23 6/24 6/25 6/26 6/27 No

6/30 7/1 7/2 7/3 7/4 No 6/30 7/1 7/2 7/3 7/4 6/30 7/1 7/2 7/3 7/4 No

7/7 7/8 7/9 7/10 7/11 Yes 7/7 7/8 7/9 7/10 7/11 Yes 7/7 7/8 7/9 7/10 7/11 Yes

7/14 7/15 7/16 7/17 7/18 Yes 7/14 7/15 7/16 7/17 7/18 Yes 7/14 7/15 7/16 7/17 7/18 Yes

7/21 7/22 7/23 7/24 7/25 Yes 7/21 7/22 7/23 7/24 7/25 Yes 7/21 7/22 7/23 7/24 7/25 Yes

7/28 7/29 7/30 7/31 8/1 Yes 7/28 7/29 7/30 7/31 8/1 Yes 7/28 7/29 7/30 7/31 8/1 Yes

8/4 8/5 8/6 8/7 8/8 Yes 8/4 8/5 8/6 8/7 8/8 Yes 8/4 8/5 8/6 8/7 8/8 Yes

8/11 8/12 8/13 8/14 8/15 8/11 8/12 8/13 8/14 8/15 Yes 8/11 8/12 8/13 8/14 8/15 No

8/18 8/19 8/20 8/21 8/22 8/18 8/19 8/20 8/21 8/22 No 8/18 8/19 8/20 8/21 8/22

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