Recommendations
for Changes to the
Academic Calendar
Presentation from the
Academic Calendar Advisory Committee
April and May 2022
Academic Calendar Advisory Committee
Debbie Knapp, co-chair, Associate Professor, Management
and Information Systems
Therese Tillett, co-chair, Associate Vice President,
Curriculum Services
Donna Alexander, Lecturer, Lifespan Development and
Educational Sciences
Aaron Bacue, Associate Lecturer, Communication Studies
Mia Barnes, Undergraduate Student, Communication Studies
Jasmin Beaver, Graduate Student, Psychological Sciences
Brenda Burke, Associate Vice President, Scholarships and
Financial Aid
Nicole Corll, Senior Associate Director, Facilities, Planning
and Operations
Chris Dorsten, University Registrar, Registrar
Pam Grimm, Professor, Marketing and Entrepreneurship
Cynthia Kenyon, Assistant Professor, Lifespan Development
and Educational Sciences
Tracy Laux, Senior Lecturer, Mathematical Sciences
Shana Lee, Assistant Dean, Student Affairs
Tracey Motter, Associate Dean, Nursing
Dirk Remley, Professor, English
Renee Romine, Executive Director, Human Resources
Mary Russell, Associate Professor, Biological Sciences
Deb Smith, Professor, Philosophy
Ron Smith, Senior Training and Development Specialist,
Human Resources
Kayla Stephens, Undergraduate Student, Early Childhood
Education
Molly Wang, Provost Fellow, Professor, Chemistry and
Biochemistry
Membership
Charge of the Committee
Determine feasibility of the following:
▪ Start fall semester earlier than a Thursday
▪ Schedule final exam weeks to be continuous Monday to Sunday
▪ Move Spring Break earlier in the semester
▪ Bring Kent State into compliance with the state’s requirement for
class time for the semester credit hour
Goals of the Committee
▪ Maintain or increase instructional days in the fall and spring
semesters
▪ Ensure that the faculty contract remains 9 months
▪ Retain, at minimum, 5 business days between each term for
critical student and campus services
Proposed Timeline
March
2022
April
to May
2022
Committee presents initial recommendations
to the provost for feedback
Committee presents initial recommendations
to the following university
-wide advisory
bodies for feedback:
▪ Academic Leadership Group
▪ Advising Deans Committee
▪ Chairs and Directors Council
▪ Educational Policies Council
▪ Faculty Senate
▪ Graduate Dean’s Advisory Council
▪ Regional Campuses Administration
▪ Student and University Service Areas *
▪ Undergraduate Deans Council
* Service areas include, but are not
limited to, the offices of:
Bursar / Finance and Administration
Communications and Marketing
Continuing and Distance Education
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Events and Protocol
Facilities Planning and Operations
Graduate Student Senate
Health Services
Human Resources
Information Technology
Institutional Research
Intercollegiate Athletics
Parking Services
Recreation Services
Residence and Dining Services
Student Affairs
Student Financial Aid
Undergraduate Student Government
FEEDBACK
SURVEY
Proposed Timeline continued
9 May 2022
Committee presents final recommendations
to
the Faculty Senate for a vote
May 2022
Committee presents final recommendations
to the provost for approval
May 2022
Provost presents recommendations to the
president for final approval
Implementation
Calendars for academic years 2023 onward
published on the Kent State website
immediately following the president’s approval
Background Information
Understanding the KSU Calendar
Comparison
with Other
Ohio Public
Universities
Review of Class Meeting Days in Fall Semester
Top Scheduled Total
Meeting Days Sections
Tue
-Thu
28.9%
Mon
-Wed
21.7%
Tue
8.8%
Wed
7.7%
Mon
-Wed-Fri 7.3%
Mon
6.7%
Thu
5.4%
Fri
3.6%
Mon
-Tue-Wed-Thu-Fri 1.9%
Mon
-Tue-Wed-Thu 1.6%
Most Scheduled
Day Sections
Tue 23.9%
Wed 23.2%
Mon 22.4%
Thu 21.8%
Fri 8.1%
Sat 0.5%
Sun 0.1%
Data of three fall semesters
(2018, 2019, 2021)
Calendar Example
Current
Calendar
▪ Challenge: Fall semester
starts on Thursday
▪ Challenge: Spring final
exams are Thursday to
Wednesday
▪ Challenge: Summer term
starts on Thursday and
ends on Wednesday
▪ Challenge: Must increase
class time to be compliant
with semester credit hour
Calendar Options
Option
1
▪ Start fall semester on 2
nd
last Monday in August
▪ Decrease winter break,
from 4 weeks to 3 weeks
▪ Start summer term on
Monday
Option
1
▪ Benefit: Gain 3 class days in fall
(Mon & Tue & Wed)
▪ Benefit: Gain 3 class days in spring
(Wed & Thu & Fri)
▪ Benefit: Spring final exams are Mon-Sun
▪ Benefit: Summer term starts on Mon and
end Sat
▪ Benefit: Compliant with class time
for the semester credit hour
▪ Challenge: Lose 1 week
of winter break for student services
▪ Challenge: Some years, 1-2 business
days between New Year’s Day and start
of spring semester
Start fall on Monday
Shorten winter break
Start summer on Monday
Option
1
Option
2
▪ Start fall semester on
last Monday in August
▪ Decrease fall semester
by two class days
▪ Start summer term on
Monday
Option
2
Start fall on Monday
Shorten fall semester
Start summer on Monday
▪ Benefit: Gain 3 class days
in spring (Wed & Thu & Fri)
▪ Benefit: Spring final exams are
Mon-Sun
▪ Challenge: Lose 2 class days in fall
(Thu & Fri)
▪ Challenge: Must increase class times to
be compliant for the semester credit hour
Option
2
Class Time Compliance
“Semester credit hour means a minimum of 750 minutes of formalized
instruction that typically requires students to work at out-of-class assignments
an average of twice the amount of time as the amount of formalized instruction
(1,500 minutes).” Source: Ohio Administrative Code 3333-1-02
Class Time Patterns
Other Calendar Options Considered
▪ Start fall semester on a Wednesday
o Issue: Decreases time between faculty contract and semester start
▪ Start fall and spring semesters on a Wednesday
o Issue: Decreases time between faculty contract and semester start
▪ Decrease spring semester
o Issue: Spring semester is 2 instructional weeks less than fall semester
▪ Always start fall semester 18 weeks before holiday schedule
o Issue: Spring semester is 2 instructional weeks less than fall semester
▪ Decrease summer term to add a week to fall or spring semester
o Issue: Duration of faculty contract is more than 9 months
▪ Turn Wednesday before Thanksgiving into a class day
o Issue: Doesn’t make that much of an impact on the calendar
Calendar
Questions and
Feedback
Spring Break Options
Spring scheduling for
full and parts of term
Kent State Spring Semester Scheduling
▪ Full semester has the most
sections offered (88%) with
the most enrollment (91%)
▪ 7-week courses are second
in sections (8%) and
enrollment (6%) combined
▪ 5-week courses are low in
sections (5%) and lowest in
enrollment (1%) combined
▪ 2
nd
5-week schedule
averages 11 sections and
110 enrolled in the spring
▪ Benefit: Spring Break
falls between 2
nd
and 3
rd
5-week classes
▪ Challenge: Spring Break
falls two-thirds in the full
semester (10 weeks
before and 5 weeks after)
▪ Challenge: Spring Break
is in week 3 of 2
nd
7-week
classes
11
th
Week
Spring 2025
▪ Benefit: Spring Break falls
somewhat in the middle of
full semester (8 weeks
before and 7 weeks after)
▪ Benefit: Spring Break falls
between the two 7-week
classes
▪ Benefit and Challenge:
two weeks between the
two 7-week classes
▪ Challenge: Spring Break
is in week 4 of 2
nd
5-week
classes
9
th
Week
Spring 2025
▪ Benefit: Spring Break falls
fully in the middle of full
semester (7 weeks before
and 8 weeks after)
▪ Benefit: Spring Break falls
between the two 7-week
classes
▪ Challenge: Spring Break
is in week 3 of 2
nd
5-week
classes
8
th
Week
Spring 2025
Spring Break
Questions and
Feedback
Committee Feedback
Committee Feedback in Favor of Option 1
▪ Option 1 is the only option that doesn't result in a loss of
teaching days.
▪ We gain a lot of classes and do not have to increase class
times.
▪ Most balanced in number of class weeks between fall and
spring; most benefits/least drawbacks/challenges to
implement.
▪ Because of the gained class days each semester, it is unlikely
that the schedules a class that I teach on both M/W and T/R
will be off schedule with each other (which is one of the
problems with the current schedule). When I've talked to
students about losing one week of winter break, they have said
that they would prefer to get rid of fall break instead--but if that
is not an option, they would rather lose a week of winter break
than a week of summer break. This seems like the best option
for faculty and students in terms of learning. But I understand
that administration will have to adjust their schedules to
accommodate the various deadlines they have over winter
break.
▪ It does not reduce the contact days in either Fall or Spring
semester and in fact increases the contact days in both
semesters, which is welcome. If other Universities can make a
3-week winter break work, so can KSU. This is my favorite of
the options and there's a large gap between this option and my
next, acceptable option. It is the only option that is both
consistent with commitment to maximally facilitating student
success and has classes starting on a Monday.
Committee Feedback NOT in Favor of Option 1
▪ In some years, spring semester will start almost immediately
after New Year's Day, which does not leave time for faculty,
staff and students to prepare for classes, including
advisement, registration and tuition payments.
▪ I truly believe that taking away this week will be a MAJOR
disadvantage to the student body. Not only is that week fit for
student services such as One Stop, which works to ensure
students are registered, have their funding and payments
completed, and overall attend Kent State, that week also
provides the opportunity for students to prep for the upcoming
semester. Students need that month long break to help their
mental needs because school is hard and a lot of work as it
is. Many students look forward to that long break to rest
themselves and re-organize themselves so they can be
prepared for the next semester. Four weeks also provides
students who work over break to gain more money to support
themselves for spring semester and to cover their schooling.
Removing that week will not service students at all. I
understand a major factor in why this option appealed to
others is because it allowed more instructional time as they
informed it is not easy to fit in all the course materials.
However, I see that more as an issue with how the professor
instructs the course rather than a fault of the students.
▪ Students are very against shortening winter break. This will
affect all university programs and could possibly affect the
financial aid process for students. We also have to think
about our international population and what their needs might
be in case they need to stay on campus or come back early.
Option
1
Committee Feedback in Favor of Option 2
▪ This is the best option for Nursing. Having equal weeks in
Fall and Spring matches the nursing curriculum and clinical
experiences best.
▪ While not ideal, it is a better option than #1. It makes the
spring semester more uniform in instructional days (14
Mondays and 15 for the other days). One of the days lost
in the fall (Friday) is the least-used weekday for classes.
▪ Consistency among each semester, both fall and spring are
15 weeks with 1 week of finals. It gains 3 days in Spring
semester and importantly 2 out of those 3 are Wednesday
and Thursday which is commonly paired with Monday and
Tuesday classes, which means those sections gain more
instructional time. It matches other school schedules, which
can be helpful with determining how the calendar will be
affected with unforeseen circumstances such as weather.
While the fall semester loses two days, those days are
Thursday and Friday which are the days with the lowest
percentage of enrollments.
▪ This is my favorite! It allows us to keep winter break the
same for services, programs, and students while being in
compliance. It will not cause anymore stress when it comes
to registration and billing.
Committee Feedback NOT in Favor of Option 2
▪ Need to change class times to be compliant
▪ Loses 2 class days…which will be detrimental to student
success in courses with content. Either the University is
genuine in its efforts to address DWF rates or it is not.
Addressing the lost days will have severe financial and
workload implications for students and for academic units.
▪ Giving up class meetings in fall is going to be incredibly
detrimental to student learning outcomes. Also, if I teach a
M/W or M/W/F SECTION and a T/R section of the same
course their schedules will be SIGNIFICANTLY different,
given the disparate number of class meetings. Also, if I teach
the same T/R class in both fall and spring, I will have to cut
an entire week of content for the fall (or add a week of
content for the spring), as the fall class would meet 28 times,
whereas the spring class would meet 30 times. And as I have
noted elsewhere, I despise the idea of having to change
course times to be compliant--and students do, as well.
▪ Fall semester already has fewer contact days (given the
holidays) than Spring semester and it is already difficult to
cover the required content in many classes within the contact
days of the Fall semester. Any option that would reduce
contact days in the fall is a non-starter for me. (This option
also reduces contact days in Spring.) The reduction of
contact days--especially in fall semester--would only increase
the DFW rate in high DFW rate courses (such as math and
science) and is inconsistent with our commitment to
maximally facilitating student success.
Option
2
Committee Feedback in Favor of 9
th
week spring break
▪ I'm actually okay with either the 9th or the 8th week. (The current 11th
week is too late in the semester--both students and faculty dislike it.)
However, the benefit of the 9th week is that students who take 7-week
classes get two weeks between the end of the first session and the
start of the second session, rather than just one week with the 8th
week spring break. Moreover, those students who take the second 5-
week course session (I know this isn't very many) get a break further
into their classes, which makes it seem like more of a break, as there
are only two weeks of class remaining. The transition from week 11 to
week 9 is likely to be more manageable for faculty to modify their
course schedules and due dates than moving it to the 8th week.
Finally, 9th week maps onto the spring break schedules for more Ohio
universities, which is preferred by students with whom I have spoken.
▪ Even two week break between seven-week courses; closer to mid-
semester; majority of universities use that week for break which may
be a negative for spring break travel plans
▪ I believe that going to the 8th week would be too early of a break for
students. I also think having it in the current week is too late in the
semester. Speaking to students before our most recent spring break
many were burnt out and looking for a release for classes. It had felt
like the semester went on far too long without a break because spring
is only provided one major one unlike fall which has many.
▪ Matches a lot of other universities. It gives faculty more time to space
out their assignments later on in the semester instead of cramming
them in within two weeks. It will also make it easier on students.
▪ Close to the mid term and align with the 7-week classes.
▪ I like the way the 9th week feels more, but the 8th week is a logical
break between 7-week terms and those are the most likely.
▪ 8th week will work best as we have many 7-week courses. We can
also live with 11th week. Week 9 will be horrible as students would go
to clinical for 1 week and complete orientation then not show up again
for 2 weeks.
▪ 11th week is too far into the semester, and 9th week requires us to
have two weeks between 1st and 2nd 7-week classes. Therefore, that
left 8th week as my choice.
▪ Earlier makes a nice break in the most populated class schedule ( full
semester and 7 week ). Students seem to struggle after a later spring
break to finish the semester strong.
▪ Faculty who teach regular 15-week courses in Spring semester will be
able to adapt fairly easily to an earlier Spring Break. However, I worry
about programs that offer classes that have non-standard schedules
(5 week, 7 week, others?). The Spring Break has been after the 10th
week of the semester for as long as anyone can remember, and the
non-standard scheduled classes grew up organically around it. I worry
that if we move the Break, some programs offering non-standardly
scheduled classes will be negatively impacted in a way that
undermines our commitment to maximally facilitating student success
and that there would be no way to consult with faculty in all such
programs before recommendations to President and Provost.
▪ Least disruptive to the schedule, and I see no benefit to moving it
Committee Feedback in Favor of 8
th
week spring break
Committee Feedback in Favor of 11
th
week spring break
Thank you!
