Faculty Feedback on JMU Academic Calendar Plan

Report to the JMU Faculty Senate

Thursday, March 30, 2017

Morgan C. Benton

Recap: Calendar
Revision Goals

• Compliance with federal financial aid guidelines
• Provide additional flexibility for students to facilitate timely graduation
• Generate revenue for JMU
• Give faculty members additional opportunities to:
  • Innovate
  • Generate income 

Stakeholders

• Provost's Office
• Registrar
• Residence Life
• Facilities Management
• Financial Aid
• Business Office
• Faculty (Senate)
• SGA
• Athletics
• Events & Conferences

Current

• 50/75/150
• 11 MWF timeslots
• 14~15 weeks
• No reading day
• No Labor Day
• No Winter term
• 3 4-week Summer terms
• Friday exams in Spring
• No Sunday exams

Proposed

• 55/80/160
• 10 MWF timeslots
• 14 weeks
• Reading day Fall & Spring?
• Labor Day still not observed?
• 3-week Winter term
• 3 4-week Summer terms
• No Fri or Sat exams?
• 2 Sunday exam slots?
• 7:35AM slot MW, WF, MF

Key Changes

APC Feedback Plan

• Academic Policies Committee will coordinate and collate the feedback generation process
• Proposed calendar details to Senators by 2/2/17
• Units/Programs will discuss during February with goal of providing feedback to APC by 3/1
• APC will collate and summarize feedback during March
• Collated feedback presented to Senate at 3/30 meeting for discussion (and action?)
• Final senate feedback delivered to Academic Calendar Committee by mid-April

Participation

• ~34 out of 43 departments responded
• ~80% participation rate
• THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
• This is what shared governance looks like

Where We Agree

• 3 weeks is too short for summer terms
• Worried about snow days in shorter Spring
• Don't love the idea of Sunday exams
• Skeptical of the effectiveness of Reading Days
• While not upset about extra 5 minutes in classes, don't think it adds to student learning and may detract

Where We were Mixed

• Labor Day and other 1-day holidays have a differential impact across programs:
  • Space constrained programs (sciences, music) have a problem
  • Writing-intensive programs welcome extra time for reading and grading papers
• Some welcome "reading" day as extra grading day

Themes

• Nobody is excited about reworking course schedules, but very few came across as up in arms about this
• Many of impacts were idiosyncratic
• We are jealous of the time we spend with our students
• Scheduling space (e.g. classrooms) is already challenging; proposal won't help; uncertainty is unsettling

What Happens Next?

• Full results and summary report will go to the Academic Calendar Review Committee
• A recommendation will probably be made to senior leadership in early summer
• Further discussion/negotiation will occur over summer and fall
• Decisions will be made in fall followed by concrete plan that could take effect as early as Fall 2018

Thank you to APC

• Laura Atkins
• Dmytro Babik
• Brian Flota
• Chrisi Hughey
• Bill Van Norman
• Cathy McKay
• Aaron PeeksMease

• Sharlene Richards
• Dave Shonk
• Ping Wang
• Toni Whitfield
• Michele White
• Marilou Johnson

Questions?