Saturday classes? IU says not yet

Rumors that IU will enact 7:30 a.m. classes and classes on Saturday next year aren't true -- yet.\nThe Wall Street Journal published an article Aug. 29 entitled, "Giving Fridays some class." The story, by Elizabeth Bernstein, noted that IU was considering 7:30 a.m. and Saturday classes. While these changes will not begin in 2004, the schedule changes may occur in the future in order to open up more classroom space, the Office of the Registrar said. \nA combination of factors, including rising enrollment and trends toward smaller class sizes and a four-day teaching week are straining IU to find space for all its classes, said IU Registrar Roland Coté.\nSooner or later, all of these factors will come together, leaving IU in a puzzling jam.\nAs of June, 35 fall semester classes on the Bloomington campus had been scheduled but not yet assigned to classrooms because none were available. Coté said the over-scheduling occurred because several classes are typically canceled before the start of the academic year.\n"We decided to take a leap," Coté said. "It's uneasy to be in that situation."\nBy the time fall classes began, though, every class had been assigned to a classroom.\nThe scheduling dilemma is the result of several trends. \nFirst, IU offers more classes and sections than ever before. Additional sections have been added due to larger enrollment and a trend toward smaller class sizes.\nClassrooms have also not kept pace with enrollment numbers.\n"There are a finite number of rooms," Coté said. "The classroom pool hasn't grown in the last 20 years, yet we're teaching 30 percent more sections."\nThe four-day teaching week also has become a problem. The idea began in the Kelley School of Business and later caught on in other departments on the Bloomington campus. The schedule transforms Thursday into an additional weekend night, a change many college students welcome. \n"Thursday is just as much of a party day as Friday and Saturday," freshman Chad Miller said. "There's not much productivity on Fridays."\nThe condensed, four-day schedule is not only preferable to students, but to some faculty members as well. Having Fridays free offers faculty a chance to concentrate on research or to pursue outside contracting work.\nDespite the benefits of the four-day schedule, some teachers said they feel holding class sessions more often for a shorter time period creates a more effective learning environment. \nLeah Shopkow, director of undergraduate studies for the history department, said that as a teacher, she finds students' attention spans are strained during the two-day, one hour and 15 minute sessions.\n"I have found that more, shorter classes are more effective than fewer, longer classes," Shopkow said. "It's like reading a book; you absorb more if you read five times for two hour sessions than if you read the whole book in one 10 hour session."\nThe four-day work week trend makes it difficult to fit all the classes into the available classroom space. Not only is an entire day lost, but fewer class sections may be scheduled during the remaining four days due to longer classes. \nThe Office of the Registrar currently is brainstorming possible solutions, Coté said. \n"The obvious solution would be to build more classroom buildings, but during this time of economic downturn, such a project isn't likely to receive funding," Coté said. "In addition, it takes time to construct a new building."\nIU previously began its day at 7:30 a.m., and incoming freshmen were required to register for both a 7:30 a.m. and a 4:30 p.m. class. The current 8 a.m. start time began in the early 1980s.\n-- Contact staff writer Alli Stolper at astolper@indiana.edu.