About four to five years ago, the Academic Council changed the daily schedule that EMU uses. They changed it to the schedule that EMU currently uses, which is that on Monday and Wednesday, there is a break from 10:10-11:00 a.m. On Mondays, that time is used for staff and faculty meetings, and then on Wednesday, for gathering. On Fridays, you have the same classes as on Mondays and Wednesdays, but they are slightly longer, and the day ends a little earlier. On Monday and Wednesday, classes end around 4:40 p.m., but on Fridays, classes end around 4:30 p.m.
Recently, the Academic Council decided to review the new schedule with staff, faculty, and students to gauge opinions. The council then sent a survey to see if a larger number of students enjoyed the schedule. They found that there were some changes that people wanted to make about the schedule, so the Academic Council decided that they could change the Monday, Wednesday, and Friday schedules. Travis Trotter, the University Registrar, said, “Changing Monday, Wednesday, and Friday was the low-hanging fruit for us to do.” So, at the start of the next academic year, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, classes will all be the same, with no more different schedules. Trotter explains, “We need to have a certain number of hours for each class to count, so to make up for losing the extra-long classes on Fridays, class periods will be lengthened by 5 minutes in the cases that need extra time.” So, for example, classes that end at 4:40 p.m. on Monday will now end at 4:45 p.m. Trotter said that they made these changes to make everything more consistent and less confusing. Also, people would arrive late to Friday classes because students needed to remember the changing schedules. With Friday being the same as Monday and Wednesday, there is now that same break from 10:10-11:00 a.m. on Friday.
Junior Abigail Hickok, said, “I understand why they want to make everything the same, but I do not think it is necessary. After the first week or so, people get used to the fact that Friday is different. Also, I enjoy that we get done earlier on Fridays.”
Ji Eun Kim, Associate Professor of Political Science, says, ” I see both sides of this. I know why they would want to make everything consistent, and it makes it easier for everybody to remember their schedules. At the same time, I enjoyed the extended periods on Fridays. I would use them as more discussion periods, so I will miss having the longer time for discussion in some of my classes.”
Only time will tell if people like this new schedule change or if EMU should have stuck with the same schedule.
