Bloomington Faculty Council makes summer schedule adjustments

In fall 2010, the Bloomington Faculty Council approved changes to the academic calendar, including a one-day fall break, a week off for Thanksgiving and a one-week earlier start date for the fall semester.

In addition to these calendar revisions, which will be implemented in 2012, changes have been made to the summer class schedule.

“The reason that we did this was in part because the whole academic year calendar is changing,” said Thomas Gieryn, vice provost for faculty and academic affairs.

Rather than the model used before — a 14-week block split into one six-week session and one eight-week session — several options are now available, Gieryn said.

Three consecutive four-week sessions, two consecutive six-week sessions, two overlapping eight-week sessions and one 12-week session will be offered to students, Interim Registrar Mark McConahay said in an email.

“The new calendar should enable more class variety and offerings for students,” he said. “There will be a learning curve for all of us at IU as we adjust to the new summer term and the sessions within them, but in the long run, the new calendar will provide enhanced academic choices and opportunities for students.”

Gieryn said a shorter summer session is necessary since the fall semester will begin earlier than in years past.

Gieryn said the changes were made prior to President Michael McRobbie’s announcement of a 25 percent tuition discount for in-state students and a dollar value equivalent reduction for out-of-state students.

“Honestly, when we developed this new calendar, we didn’t know the president was going to discount,” he said. “We didn’t know the president was going to propose the idea of year-round school.”

However, the discount as well as the changes in the calendar are likely to attract more students to take summer courses, McConahay said.

“Given the tuition discount and the new calendar, I do think that enrollment in the summer sessions will increase,” he said.

Roy Durnal, interim director of the Office of Student Financial Assistance, said in an email that despite the reduced tuition, some students still might need financial aid.

He also said changes in financial aid are not likely with the new summer calendar.

“We’re still working with all our campus partners to sort out the details,” Durnal said. “At this time, I don’t see that there will be any significant changes in the way students apply for and receive financial aid during the summer.”

McConahay said the registration process will remain the same, but he advised students to pay close attention to the meeting dates they register for to avoid conflicts.

Gieryn said Bloomington faculty prefer options with varying lengths, and the different term lengths will provide flexibility for students.

“There are some great opportunities for students to focus on certain types of classes or knock off general education requirements,” he said. “It’s an experiment. We don’t know how it’s going to work. We hope students will like it.”