Presidents Day shuffle

Monday, Feb. 20 classes will be moved to the 21 because of the President's Day holiday. Photo: Nichola Pritchett/UVU REVIEW

It can be seen on Canvas, or maybe seen on one of the many flyers hanging on the walls throughout campus. Perhaps this is the first time anyone has heard of it. Regardless, there is a big switch coming up that students need to know about.

As always, classes will not be held Monday, Feb. 20, because of Presidents Day. The day after, though, Tuesday classes will be canceled, and Monday classes will be held in their place.

The change is new this semester. The Academic Affairs Council created the switch day and other changes to the calendar, including a weeklong Spring Break.

“[The changes] were approved somewhat conditionally,” said Director of Academic Scheduling & Curriculum Eva Bernfeld. “What we ended up with is a semester that was three days shorter than usual.”

Some departments expressed concern at this, as it would give them less time to teach their courses. Ultimately it came down to shortening Spring Break back down to three days or implementing the switch day.

“It’s a one-day disruption,” said Bernfeld. “When I mentioned it was that or shorten Spring Break, people seemed a little more willing to deal with the disruption.”

A switch day like this is not uncommon in other institutions. In fact, that’s where the Academic Affairs Council got the idea. Since there are so many holidays that fall on a Monday, it’s a way to enable a school to give enough time for the instructors to teach their classes well.

This does put a particular crunch on block classes. Recreation classes that are only held on Tuesday will actually end a whole week earlier. So, for instance, Rock Climbing I will hold their last class next week, despite the block ending the following Friday.

Since academic calendars are prepared well in advance, students can look forward to the same switch next spring semester. In addition, the option is open to include the switch in the 2013-14 calendar, depending on how it turns out this year. So mark the calendar, set an alarm and don’t be late for the first of what may become a regular part of spring semester at UVU.

By Steve Jenkins
News Writer