Class Schedule Reconsidered College May Move to Utilize 8 a.m., Friday Afternoon Slots

Author: Edward Pickering

The Middlebury College administration and Faculty Council are considering a number of scheduling changes for the 2003-04 academic year, including a substantial increase in the number of 8 a.m. classes.
The scheduling revisions should alleviate pressure arising from having too many classes scheduled at certain times of the day. "The problem," said Secretary of the College and Professor of Political Science Eric Davis, "is an overload of classes in the 'prime time' mid- and late-morning slots."
Currently, 61 percent of classes meet at one of five times: Monday, Wednesday and Friday 9:05 a.m., 10:10 a.m. or 11:15 a.m.; and Tuesday, Thursday 9:30 a.m. or 11:00 a.m. "These five times represent 45 percent of available scheduling slots," Davis explained, "so there are considerably more courses scheduled in these 'prime time' hours than would be the case if classes were evenly distributed across the day."
The concentration of classes affects student course selection. Professor of Mathematics Bruce Peterson opined, "By clustering most of our courses in a very few favorable time slots, we drastically restrict student choice."
Peterson noted that first-year students in particular experience difficulty registering for classes. "Many first-year students get only two of their chosen courses. Significant numbers get only one or none. Too many are offered at times that assure unbreakable conflicts. In many senses the richness of our curriculum exists on paper."
Davis corroborates Peterson's assessment of the situation, writing, "Faculty advisers report that students are having increasing difficulty putting their class schedules together because so many courses are offered in the mid- and late-morning slots."
Peterson, who has long descried the paucity of 8 a.m. classes, spoke to faculty members at meeting in September. In his speech he faulted professors for electing not to teach at 8 a.m. According to Peterson, some 18 academic departments do not offer a single course at that hour. Peterson has analyzed teaching patterns for years, so it is with authority that he declared, "Some departments simply never offer 8 o'clocks. The load falls to just a few of us."
"The problem lies with us and the way we schedule our classes," said Peterson. "It is hard to escape the conclusion that our program is devised for the convenience of the faculty and not for the benefit of our students."
According to Davis, current scheduling rules require that only 9 percent of classes be offered at 8-8:50 Monday, Wednesday, Friday or 8-9:15 a.m. Tuesday, Thursday. The issue, continued Davis, is not one of non-compliance, as a good 8 percent of classes are currently offered at those times. Davis stressed, instead, that the problem is the overload of "prime time" slots.
The administration and the Faculty Council are looking at a number of options for relieving the 'prime time' scheduling crunch. One option would be to require that a higher percentage of classes (15 percent) be offered at 8 a.m. Another would be to place a cap on the percentage of classes (55 percent) conducted during 'prime time' hours. Finally, the school might allow classes on Wednesday evenings, so that classes could be scheduled from 7:30-8:45 p.m. on both Mondays and Wednesdays. "These options," observed Davis, "are not mutually exclusive."
A separate proposal has been put forward to eliminate classes between 2:30 and 4 p.m. on Wednesday afternoons. The hour and a half would be reserved for symposia, faculty meetings, committee meetings and major lectures. "This would allow major all-campus lectures such as those presented this fall by Elie Wiesel and Seamus Heaney to be scheduled at an hour when there would be no conflicts with classes, athletic practice or other co-curricular or extra-curricular events," said Davis. As a consequence of setting aside a "common time" on Wednesdays, a greater number of classes, seminars and labs would have to take place on Friday afternoons. Currently, 77 percent of the student body has no classes later than 11:15 a.m. on Fridays.
"There are, for all intents and purposes, no classes on Friday afternoons," affirmed Peterson.
The administration must decide by mid- to late January if changes will be made to the class schedule for the 2003-04 academic year.