Contact: Joe Farris
Mississippi State's academic calendar will include a five-day Thanksgiving-week class break during a two-year trial period starting next fall.
Under the revised calendar, fall 2003 classes will begin on Wednesday, Aug. 20, and final exams will be given Monday-Friday, Dec. 8-12, with Fall Commencement set for Saturday, Dec. 13. No classes will be held Monday-Friday, Nov. 24-28, during the week of Thanksgiving, or on Labor Day, Sept. 1.
The calendar change originated with Student Association requests. President Charles Lee approved the two-year fall break experiment on the recommendation of the Deans Council and Executive Council and with the assent of the Faculty Senate leadership.
The revised schedule will be followed for the fall 2003 through spring 2005 semesters and will be evaluated during that time. The university's Calendar Committee is to study the impact of the fall break and make a recommendation during the fall 2004 semester that it be continued, modified, or eliminated.
"I am assured that under the revised calendar we will be maintaining class contact minutes at a level that meets state Institutions of Higher Learning requirements and generally exceeds what prevails at our peer institutions," Lee said.
"I hope that the longer break will not reduce student attendance at our traditional Thanksgiving Day football game," he added.
The upcoming two fall semesters and two spring semesters each will include 2,350 class minutes per three-hour course, including exam periods, compared with 2,450 minutes during the current academic year.
IHL policy calls for a targeted 2,450 minutes per three-hour course, but allows for variation from 2,270 to 2,530 minutes, including exams, said Interim Registrar Butch Stokes. If the revised schedule were permanently adopted, most future semesters would consist of 2,350 contact minutes per three-hour course, although some semesters would be either longer or shorter by one class day.
IHL staff members have verified that the new calendar meets policy requirements, Stokes said. Even with the new calendar in place, MSU classes will meet for more minutes per semester than is typical of major universities across the region. "We will still be on the high end of the scale," he said.
MSU has for years observed a two-day Thursday-Friday holiday at Thanksgiving. That will now be expanded to the full week for students with the addition of a Monday-Wednesday fall break. The calendar changes do not affect the holiday schedule for employees other than nine-month faculty.