Instructional Time: An Analysis of Purdue’s Academic
Calendar
By Dr. Frank J. Dooley
White Paper
January 2014
While based upon numerous conversations with faculty members, staff, and students from Purdue
and other universities, this white paper is the sole work of the author.
Executive Summary
The shift to a trimester or a year round university is an exceedingly complex question. Part of the
challenge in approaching multifaceted issues is simply determining where does one start? Almost 100
questions were identified by the University Senate (Dooley). The goal of this white paper is to provide
the campus with the structure of a prototype trimester calendar. As such, it begins to provide a context
and definitions to consider the questions surrounding the shift to trimesters. Yet the focus of this white
paper is very narrow, only considering the feasibility of the alternative academic calendars and the use
of instructional time. If a proposed change to the calendar were deemed feasible, the next step would
be to consider the ramifications across the broader set of questions.
Most public institutions (92%) currently operate with a semester calendar. Only seven public
institutions have a trimester calendar, with the most notable case being the University of Michigan.
However, when queried, administrators at Michigan were surprised to learn they are on a trimester. In
short, very little use is made of the summer sessions for instruction at the University of Michigan.
Comparing Purdue’s current academic calendar with 18 other public universities for the period Fall 2013
through Summer 2014 provides a benchmark to gauge the use of instructional time. Relative to our
peers, Purdue students have more instructional time per semester. A Purdue student schedule has class
for 74 days, 6 days of final exams, and no reading day, for a total of 80 days of instruction per term. This
is almost 2 more total days of instruction per term than our peers, who average 71.8 days of instruction,
5.4 days of final exams, and 1.0 reading days.
A prototype balanced trimester calendar is developed and compared to the current Purdue academic
calendar, as well as to the unbalanced trimester calendar of the University of Michigan. The prototype
calendar is a balanced trimester, consisting of 14-week fall and spring terms, with two 7-week summer
terms. The use of instructional time for the three types of calendars is compared by obtaining or
developing academic calendars for 11 years into the future.
In short, both a balanced and an unbalanced trimester calendar are feasible alternatives to the current
calendar. However, the unbalanced trimester as practiced by the University of Michigan is viewed with
disfavor because of its lack of consistency. One implication is the 13 weeks of instruction with the
balanced trimester will only require 12 full weeks of instruction, plus two days in the 13th week. There
will be 37 MWF class periods and 25 TH class periods per fall and spring term. A choice must be made as
to which week of the term is a partial week.
The balanced trimester calendar offers advantages for summer sessions. Allowing time for 2 exam days
in each summer session and ending on a Thursday in the second summer session, would leave 32 days
for instruction in both terms. A longer winter break might allow for Maymester type courses, either
online or perhaps as study abroad. The University of Iowa and Maryland conduct a 3-week winter term.
Switching to a balanced trimester may affect the use of instructional time in at least five ways. Thus, a
change will also require that we consider policies and practices for: 1) the hours of operation, 2) evening
exams, 3) final exams, 4) dead week, and 5) drop/add deadlines.
i
Table of Contents
Executive Summary.................................................................................................................................... i
Table of Contents ...................................................................................................................................... ii
List of Figures and Tables ......................................................................................................................... iii
Instructional Time: An Analysis of Purdue’s Academic Calendar ................................................................. 1
Background and Goals .............................................................................................................................. 1
Academic Calendars ...................................................................................................................................... 2
Purdue and Peer Institution Academic Calendars .................................................................................... 3
The Structure of Three Academic Calendars ............................................................................................ 8
Days of Instruction per Term ................................................................................................................ 9
University Holidays ............................................................................................................................. 10
University Regulations and Guidelines ............................................................................................... 10
A Comparison of Academic Calendars .................................................................................................... 11
Discussion and Ramifications .................................................................................................................. 15
1. Hours of operation .......................................................................................................................... 15
2. Evening examinations .................................................................................................................... 16
3. Final examinations .......................................................................................................................... 17
4. Dead week....................................................................................................................................... 17
5. Drop/add deadline .......................................................................................................................... 17
Summary ................................................................................................................................................. 18
Sources .................................................................................................................................................... 18
Appendix A – Links for Calendars............................................................................................................ 19
Appendix B. Current and Proposed Academic Calendar, Fall 2013 through Summer 2014 .................. 20
ii
List of Figures and Tables
Figure 1. Assumed Evolution of Trimester Credit Hours.............................................................................. 2
Table 1. Type of Calendar, by Type of Institution, Primarily Granting Baccalaureate or Higher, 2012 ....... 3
Table 2. Start and End Dates, and Number of Weeks for Fall and Spring Terms, 2013-14 a ....................... 4
Table 3. Allocation of Days per Semester, for Fall and Spring Term, 2013-14 ............................................ 6
Table 4. Weeks per Summer 1 and Summer 2 Terms .................................................................................. 7
Table 5. Number of Weeks, by Fall, Spring, Summer and Between Terms, 2013-14 .................................. 8
Table 6. Instructional Time and Days per Term for 3 Credit Course ............................................................ 9
Table 7. Number of Average Weeks by Term, Purdue, Balanced Trimester, and Unbalanced Trimester. 13
Table 8. A Comparison of the Current and Proposed Academic Calendars, 2013-14 to 2023-24 ............. 13
Table 9. Allocation of Days per Term, Current, Balanced, and Unbalanced Calendar .............................. 14
iii
Instructional Time: An Analysis of Purdue’s Academic Calendar
Background and Goals
Conversations across campus suggest five reasons why Purdue might consider adopting a different
academic calendar apart from, and before a decision is made whether the campus should switch to
trimesters. The five reasons are: 1) a lack of clarity, 2) the use of instructional time, 3) symmetry among
terms, 4) cooperative (coop) education, and 5) less risk if summer demand is low.
First, prolonged ambiguity about Purdue’s future academic calendar creates two sources of uncertainty.
To start, a lack of clarity about the nature of our calendar may complicate the recruitment of new
faculty. In addition, a clear expectation about future academic calendars is important for Admission’s
work with prospective students and their families.
Second, during the past two years, proposals to revise five academic regulations with respect to the
instructional time have been introduced at the Educational Policy Committee. The structure of an
academic calendar affects instructional time, which in turn depends on student regulations for drop/add
deadlines, night examinations, final examinations, hours of operation, and dead week.
Third, some faculty members suggest it is logical to have 14-week fall/spring terms and two 7-week
summer sessions. The symmetry of 14 weeks across all terms means fewer or perhaps no adjustments
are required to teach courses in the summer. In addition, if we ultimately choose to adopt trimesters, it
would simply be a case of changing the two 7-week summer sessions to a third 14-week trimester.
Fourth, three 14-week terms across the year would assist scheduling for students in coop programs.
These students typically spend 3 or 5 semesters on site at their sponsoring company, spread across fall,
spring, and summer terms. Balanced terms would facilitate scheduling for coop students as employers
feel the current summer sessions are too short. Moreover, a greater selection of courses during
summer sessions would assist students’ participation in coops during fall and spring terms.
Finally, changing the calendar to two 14-week terms with two 7-week summer sessions instead of
shifting to a trimester lowers the risk if summer enrollment growth does not materialize. The balanced
trimester proposal assumed that summer credit hours will grow from 7% of the fall 2010 total to 70% of
the fall 2022 total, switching to trimesters when summer credit hours reach 35% of fall term (Figure 1).
However, many question the validity of assuming that this many students will enroll during summer.
The two 7-week summer sessions are important because they provide a summer academic calendar
structure more likely to encourage summer enrollment. The first summer session is likely to attract
students already enrolled. In contrast, the second session will draw students new to Purdue (e.g.,
summer honors, bridge programs, etc.). Thus, even if growth never triggers the switch to trimesters, the
alternative calendar likely would lead to a much more robust summer session enrollment.
To provide a basis to consider this idea, a prototype trimester calendar is developed and compared to
the current academic calendar, as well as to the calendar of the University of Michigan. The focus of this
analysis is very narrow, only considering the feasibility of the alternative academic calendars and the use
of instructional time. The first alternative considers two 14-week fall/spring terms, with two 7-week
summer terms, or a balanced trimester. The second alternative considers a calendar comparable to that
of the University of Michigan, which is an unbalanced trimester. If a proposed change to the calendar
were deemed feasible, the next step would be to consider the ramifications across the campus.
1
Credit Hours
Figure 1. Assumed Evolution of Trimester Credit Hours
500,000
450,000
400,000
350,000
300,000
250,000
200,000
150,000
100,000
50,000
0
Fall
Spring
Summer
2010
460,190
430,338
25,000
2022
437,181
408,869
311,500
Source: Sands, Tim. “Senate Decadal Update: Jan. 23, 2012.” Report to the University Senate, January
23, 2012. https://www.purdue.edu/senate/meetings/index.html.
The organization of this report is to first briefly review the structure of academic calendars for 4-year
universities from the U.S. Next, Purdue’s current academic calendar is compared with 18 other public
universities for the period Fall 2013 through Summer 2014 to provide a benchmark to gauge the use of
instructional time. Calendars are from the 12 public Big Ten institutions, 4 other peer institutions, and
Arizona State University (who has moved to two 7.5 week terms or a 15 week term for fall/spring), and
the University of Florida (who has a new program built around spring/summer enrollment). Three
assumptions are then made which provide the basis for the two proposed calendars, which are
compared to the current Purdue calendar. Finally, issues and challenges arising from the proposed
calendars are identified.
Academic Calendars
U.S. institutions of higher learning provide data and information to the Integrated Postsecondary
Education Data System or IPEDS.1 In particular, IPEDS includes information about instructional
characteristics, including control or affiliation, type of calendar system, levels of awards offered, and
types of programs.2 Data were downloaded for 2,613 institutions who granted baccalaureate degrees or
above, and who awarded BS degrees in the 2011-12 academic year. Of the total, 25% were public
institutions, 52% were private (not-for-profit), and 23% were private for profit (Table 1).
1
2
http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter/
http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/about/
2
Table 1. Type of Calendar, by Type of Institution, Primarily Granting Baccalaureate or Higher, 2012
Public
Private
For-profit
Total
Calendar
number
%
number
%
number
%
number
%
Semester
611
92%
1,108
82%
135
23%
1,854
71%
Quarter
39
6%
76
6%
291
49%
406
16%
Four-one-four plan
9
1%
101
7%
0
0%
110
4%
Trimester
7
1%
56
4%
10
2%
73
3%
Other academic yr
0
0%
16
1%
154
26%
170
7%
Total
666
100%
1,357
100%
590
100%
2,613
100%
Source: IPEDS Data Center, http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/datacenter/CDSPreview.aspx
The principal types of calendars are semesters, quarters, the 4-1-4 system, and trimesters. The IPEDS
definitions are:





The semester calendar consists of two sessions called semesters during the academic year with
about 15 weeks for each semester of instruction. There may be an additional summer session.
The quarter calendar is a calendar system in which the academic year consists of 3 sessions
called quarters of about 12 weeks each. The range may be from 10 to 15 weeks as defined by
the institution. There may be an additional quarter in the summer.
The 4-1-4 calendar usually consists of 4 courses taken for 4 months, 1 course taken for 1 month,
and 4 courses taken for 4 months. There may be an additional summer session.
The trimester calendar is an academic year consisting of 3 terms of about 15 weeks each.
With IPEDS, a summer session is shorter than a regular session and is not considered part of the
academic year. It is not the third term of an institution operating on a trimester system or the
fourth term of an institution operating on a quarter calendar systems. The institution may have
two or more sessions occurring in the summer months.
Semesters are the most prevalent calendar for public and private universities, at 92% and 82%,
respectively (Table 1). In contrast, for-profit do not have a majority type of academic calendar, with 49%
on a quarter system. Of the 666 four-year public US institutions, only 7 universities report as being on
trimesters. The seven public institutions on trimesters are Granite State College (New Hampshire),
Northwest Missouri State University, SUNY Empire State College, the United States Merchant Marine
Academy, the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Oklahoma State University Institute of TechnologyOkmulgee, and the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.
Purdue and Peer Institution Academic Calendars
Purdue defines a credit hour in accordance with the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) standards, which
in turn are based on federal regulations. Purdue’s guidelines grant one credit for a class meeting 50
minutes per week for the entire 15-week semester, or for the equivalent of 750 semester minutes,
excluding final examinations.3 Purdue’s calendar consists of courses scheduled during the academic
year and summer session. “[T]he academic year calendar shall consist of two 16-week semesters.
Summer session(s) may be one 4-week and one 8-week or two 6-week or other configurations as
approved by the Provost's Office.”
3
http://www.purdue.edu/registrar/Forms/Form40Info/Credit_Hr_Guidelines.pdf
3
Days in the week were tracked for Purdue and 18 peer universities for the 2013-14 academic year, with
days being classified for class, reading days, final exams, scheduled breaks, or holidays. The length of a
term is measured from the first day of class through the last day of finals, and is measured in weeks. As
such, the tally of days ignores faculty preparation time and commencement, and time between terms.
Because of breaks and holidays, the 16-week academic semester is typically 17 calendar weeks (Table 2).
Table 2. Start and End Dates, and Number of Weeks for Fall and Spring Terms, 2013-14 a
Number of weeks
Number of weeks
University Fall Start Fall End
Spring Start Spring End
Calendar
Full Class
17.2
Purdue
8/19/13 12/14/13
13
1/13/14
16.6
ASU
8/22/13 12/14/13
11
1/13/14
17.0
Cal
8/29/13 12/20/13
11
1/21/14
16.8
Florida
8/21/13 12/13/13
10
1/6/14
17.0
Ga Tech
8/19/13 12/13/13
13
1/6/14
17.0
Illinois
8/26/13 12/20/13
13
1/21/14
17.0
Indiana
8/26/13 12/20/13
13
1/13/14
17.0
Iowa
8/26/13 12/20/13
14
1/21/14
16.2
Maryland
9/3/13 12/21/13
13
1/27/14
16.0
Michigan
9/2/13 12/20/13
11
1/8/14
15.6
MSU
8/28/13 12/13/13
12
1/6/14
16.0
Minnesota
9/2/13 12/19/13
12
1/21/14
17.0
Nebraska
8/26/13 12/20/13
13
1/13/14
16.2
Ohio State 8/21/13 12/11/13
11
1/6/14
17.0
Penn State 8/26/13 12/20/13
14
1/13/14
16.6
Rutgers
9/3/13 12/23/13
12
1/21/14
16.2
UT Austin
8/28/13 12/17/13
12
1/13/14
15.6
TX A&M
8/26/13 12/11/13
12
1/13/14
16.2
Wisconsin
9/3/13 12/21/13
13
1/21/14
16.5
Peer Mean 8/27/13 12/17/13
12.2
1/14/14
a
Web addresses to academic calendars are found in Appendix A.
Calendar
5/10/14
5/10/14
5/16/14
5/2/14
5/2/14
5/16/14
5/9/14
5/16/14
5/21/14
5/1/14
5/2/14
5/17/14
5/9/14
4/29/14
5/9/14
5/14/14
5/13/14
5/7/14
5/17/14
5/10/14
17.2
17.2
17.0
17.2
17.0
17.0
17.0
17.0
16.6
16.4
17.0
17.2
17.0
16.4
17.0
16.6
17.6
16.6
17.2
16.9
Full Class
14
14
13
13
14
13
14
14
14
12
14
14
14
13
14
13
14
12
14
13.5
For the 2013-14 academic year, the Fall 2013 term typically started August 27, with finals ending
December 17th (Table 2). The typical Spring 2014 term runs from January 14th to May 10th, 2014. Start
dates for fall term range from August 19th to September 3rd; while end dates range from December 11th
to December 23rd. Spring start dates range from January 6th to the 27th, while finals end between April
29th and May 21st. Given the HLC requirements of a credit hour, there is little variability in the length of
academic calendars, although the use of time varies.
In addition to the number of total calendar weeks, the number of “full class” weeks, or weeks with class
Monday through Friday are tallied. This metric is especially important for courses with multiple sections
or laboratories because an entire week of class can be lost if class does not meet for one day because of
4
a break or holiday. While the number of Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays can
be equalized across a semester, instructors of multi-section courses strongly prefer to keep the class at
the same pace each week. Their rationale stems from the challenge of coordinating the schedules of
course coordinators, lab managers, teaching assistants, etc.
Calendars may not have “full class” week schedules for three reasons. First, the semester may start or
end midweek. Second, holidays such as Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and Martin Luther King
Day, etc. are part of the calendar. Third, every university has a week of spring break, and some also
have scheduled breaks during fall semester.
The average fall term of 16.5 calendar weeks, supports 12.2 “full class” weeks (Table 2). Some
universities have as few as 10 “full class” weeks, while others have as many as 14 weeks. In spring term,
the average of 16.9 calendar weeks is accompanied with 13.5 “full class” weeks. In spring the range of
“full class” weeks is from 12 to 14.
Thus, the structure of an academic calendar can lead to more “full class” weeks. E.g., by combining fall
break with Thanksgiving break, Penn State and Iowa have 14 “full class” weeks in the fall. In contrast the
University of Florida only has 10 “full class” weeks in the fall because of a mid-week start, Labor Day, fall
break, Veterans Day, and Thanksgiving. The number of “full class” weeks in spring semester is more
consistent across the universities, most likely because there are fewer holidays. While all peer
universities offer a full week of spring break, breaks are less common in the fall. There is no fall break at
Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, Rutgers, UT Austin, Texas A&M, or Wisconsin.
Additional information is obtained by considering the allocation of days in a term as opposed to weeks
(Table 3). Compared to the peer universities, Purdue has the most instructional days (class, reading
days, and exams), meeting for 80 days a term as opposed to the peer average of 77.6 days during fall
and 78.8 days in spring (Table 3).
It is unknown whether peer universities have a ‘dead week’ policy like Purdue. Half of the peer
universities have at least one reading day between the last day of class and final exams, with a full week
at Cal-Berkeley (Table 2). Besides Purdue, 9 peer institutions have 6 days of final exams. Like Purdue, 7
peer institutions (Arizona State, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, UT Austin, and Wisconsin) have
Saturday finals, while finals at Michigan and Rutgers start mid-week and carryover to a second week
after no exams on the weekend. Eight other peers have a 5 day final examination period as opposed to
6 days, with 4 days of final exams at Texas A&M.
Summer session calendars vary widely among the peer institutions (Table 4). Five institutions start
summer with a 3-week term, five start with a 4-week term, one starts with a 5-week term, six start with
a 6-week term, and the two Michigan universities have two 7-week terms. Fifteen of the 19 institutions
offer a great deal of flexibility in summer calendars, while the other four institutions have two sessions.
Two universities, Iowa and Maryland, also offer a 3-week winter session between Fall and Spring term.
The weeks in the year from August 12, 2013 through August 15, 2014 were allocated to fall, spring,
summer, or to weeks between terms. The weeks between terms includes time for faculty preparation,
as well as time for determining final grades. Moreover this time is critical for refurbishing classrooms,
laboratories, and residence halls. The typical year has 16.5 weeks in the fall term, 16.9 weeks in spring
term, 12.0 weeks in summer session, and 7.8 weeks between terms (Table 5). Thus, time is allocated as
31, 32, 22, and 14 percent to fall term, spring term, other terms, and between terms, respectively. On
average, the time dedicated to a summer session is 71.7% of the typical fall/spring term.
5
Table 3. Allocation of Days per Semester, for Fall and Spring Term, 2013-14
Days in Fall
Class Days Exams Days Reading Days Instructional Break Days Holidays
74
6
0
80
3
3
Purdue
71
6
0
77
3
3
ASU
68
5
5
78
3
4
Cal
70
6
2
78
2
4
Florida
75
5
0
80
2
3
Ga Tech
72
6
1
79
3
3
Illinois
72
5
0
77
5
3
IU
74
5
0
79
3
3
Iowa
72
6
0
78
0
3
Maryland
68
6
1
75
2
3
Michigan
70
5
0
75
0
3
MSU
70
6
1
77
0
3
Minnesota
74
5
0
79
3
3
Nebraska
70
5
1
76
1
4
Ohio State
74
5
0
79
3
3
Penn State
70
6
2
78
0
5
Rutgers
70
6
2
78
0
3
UT Austin
69
4
2
75
0
3
TX A&M
Wisconsin
72
6
0
78
0
3
Peer Fall Days
71.2
5.4
0.9
77.6
1.7
3.3
Days in Spring Class Days Exams Days Reading Days Instructional Break Days Holidays
74
6
0
80
5
1
Purdue
74
6
0
80
5
1
ASU
69
5
5
79
5
1
Cal
72
6
2
80
5
1
Florida
74
5
0
79
5
1
Ga Tech
72
6
1
79
5
1
Illinois
74
5
0
79
5
1
IU
74
5
0
79
5
1
Iowa
72
5
1
78
5
0
Maryland
69
6
1
76
5
1
Michigan
74
5
0
79
5
1
MSU
74
6
0
80
5
1
Minnesota
74
5
0
79
5
1
Nebraska
70
5
1
76
5
1
Ohio State
74
5
0
79
Penn State
5
1
70
5
2
77
Rutgers
7
1
74
6
2
82
UT Austin
5
1
70
4
3
77
TX A&M
1
7
Wisconsin
74
6
0
80
1
5
Peer Spring
72.4
5.3
1.0
78.8
5.0
0.9
6
Total
86
83
85
84
85
85
85
85
81
80
78
80
85
81
85
83
81
78
81
82.5
Total
86
86
85
86
85
85
85
85
83
82
85
86
85
82
85
85
88
85
86
84.7
Table 4. Weeks per Summer 1 and Summer 2 Terms
Summer Summer Total Days of Summer
University
1
2
Instruction
60
Purdue
4 week 8 week
ASU
Cal
Florida
Ga Tech
Illinois
6 week
6 week
6 week
6 week
4 week
6 week
6 week
6 week
6 week
8 week
Indiana
4 week
8 week
Iowa
3 week
6/8 wk
Maryland
6 week
6 week
Michigan
MSU
Minnesota
Nebraska
Ohio State
Penn St
Rutgers
UT Austin
Texas
A&M
Wisconsin
7 week
7 week
3 week
3 week
4 week
3 week
4 week
6 week
7 week
7 week
8 week
5 week
8 week
6 week
8 week
6 week
5 week
5 week
3 week
8 week
62
60
60
60
62
59
Notes
Also offered two 6-week sessions beginning
in 2013
Also offer 8 week session
Also offer 3 week, 8, and 10 week sessions
Also offer a 13 week full term
Also offer 12 week full term
Indiana offers three 4-week, or two 6-week,
or two 8-weeks or a 12-week sessions
Also offer a 3 week term b/n Fall/Spring
Various length terms; also offer a 3 week
session between Fall and Spring
Or a combined 14 week term
Or a combined 15 week term
Also offer 13 week, 10 week & 4 week terms
Offered as a 8 week or a 3/5/5 week term
54
60
73
68
55
64
58
64
58
54
53
Or can take two 6-week terms
Also offer 9 week and 12 week full term
Also offer 10 week session, separate
scheduled finals
55
Two sets of academic calendars differ from the typical calendar. First, as previously mentioned, the
University of Michigan is on a trimester calendar. Unlike most universities, the structure of the summer
calendar is much closer to that of the typical fall/spring calendar. Michigan has 66 days of summer
instruction spread across two sessions, compared to 68 and 69 days of instruction in fall and spring,
respectively. Fall and spring terms both have 6 days of exams, while summer has a total of 4 days of
exams. In total, the summer as a percent to the academic year term is 90.1 percent at Michigan,
compared to 71.7 percent at the typical university (Table 5).
Second, the University of Florida, Arizona State University, and the Ohio State University have recently
modified their calendars. In 2013, the University of Florida began admitting students to the Innovation
Academy.4 The Innovation Academy admits students to one of 29 majors, and the students only attend
courses on campus during spring and summer terms. The first class had roughly 300 students, with the
expectation that the program will grow to 2,000 students. According to Joseph Glover, Provost and
Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, “This could be the prelude to a year round calendar”
(Hoover, 2013). Florida continues to offer the traditional fall/spring 16 semester, with a 12 week
summer term.
4
http://innovationacademy.aa.ufl.edu/
7
Table 5. Number of Weeks, by Fall, Spring, Summer and Between Terms, 2013-14
Summer
Weeks
University
Fall Term
Spring Term
Sessions
Between Terms
Number of weeks
Purdue
17.2
17.2
12.0
7.0
ASU
16.6
17.2
12.4
7.2
Cal
17.0
17.0
12.0
7.6
Florida
16.8
17.2
12.0
7.4
Ga Tech
17.0
17.0
12.0
7.0
Illinois
17.0
17.0
12.4
7.0
Indiana
17.0
17.0
11.8
7.2
1
Iowa
17.0
17.0
10.8
8.2
Maryland1
16.2
16.6
12.4
8.4
Michigan
16.0
16.4
14.6
6.0
MSU
15.6
17.0
13.6
6.8
Minnesota
16.0
17.2
11.0
9.2
Nebraska
17.0
17.0
12.8
6.2
Ohio State
16.2
16.4
11.6
8.8
Penn State
17.0
17.0
12.8
6.2
Rutgers
16.6
16.6
11.6
8.2
UT Austin
16.2
17.6
10.8
9.2
TX A&M
15.6
16.6
10.6
10.2
Wisconsin
16.2
17.2
11.0
9.0
Peer Mean
16.5
16.9
12.0
7.8
:
NOTES
a
From August 12, 2013 through August 15, 2014.
1
Does not include 3 week winter sessions at Iowa or Maryland.
Summer/ [Ave
of Spring & Fall]
Percent
69.8%
73.4%
70.6%
70.6%
70.6%
72.9%
69.4%
63.5%
73.2%
90.1%
83.4%
66.3%
75.3%
71.2%
75.3%
69.9%
63.9%
65.8%
65.9%
71.7%
Arizona State University split its fall/spring terms into three sessions, “A and B sessions, featuring
intense courses that last seven and a half weeks each, and a C session, which runs the full 15 weeks”
(Blumenstyk, 2013). In part the motivation is to help ASU better compete in the online market. As with
Florida, the changes to the calendar at ASU were limited to the academic term, summer sessions at ASU
are 73 percent of the academic year (Table 5).
In the past year, the Ohio State University shifted from a quarter to a semester system used by other
Ohio universities, to facilitate transfers. Like ASU, the fall and spring terms are divided into minisessions as well as full term. “This fall only about 13 percent of the 9,000-plus classes at Ohio State’s
main campus are being offered in mini-sessions, but the portion is expected to grow”( Blumenstyk,
2013). Summer sessions are 71 percent of fall/spring at Ohio State.
The Structure of Three Academic Calendars
The structure of an academic calendar is shaped by three factors: 1) federal regulations that define a
credit (which in term inform how many days of instruction are offered), 2) the schedule of official
8
university holidays, and 3) university regulations and guidelines. The academic calendar must comply
with the federal definition of a credit hour to qualify for federal funding. The schedule of official
university holidays is generally consistent across university calendars. Thus, the differences in academic
calendars are largely driven by the structure of constructs arising from academic regulations and
guidelines. In this section, the three factors are defined for the current Purdue academic calendar and
the unbalanced trimester at the University of Michigan, and assumptions are made for the proposed
balanced trimester.
Days of Instruction per Term
Purdue has 74 days of instruction per fall/spring term and 6 days of final exams (Table 3). The days per
term5 at the University of Michigan range from a minimum of 67 days to 69 days, “although the
accrediting body recommends 70 days.”6 Michigan has 6 exam days in fall and spring, and 2 exam days
in each of the two seven-week summer term. There must also be at least one reading day per term.
To arrive at the days of instruction for the balanced trimester, the number of minutes is assumed to be
the same as the current Purdue calendar. Purdue defines a credit hour as 750 minutes of contact time,
in accordance with the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) standards. As a result, Monday/Wednesday/
Friday (MWF) classes meet for 50 minutes and Tuesday/Thursday (TH) classes meet for 75 minutes. If
the weeks of instruction were to fall from 15 to 13 weeks, the 50 minute class period must increase to
58 minutes to meet the time requirements of a credit hour. Practically, we would choose to offer a 60
minute class. The 75 minute class for TH schedules would increase to 90 minutes.
A 3-credit course taught during fall semester 2013 at Purdue lasted 2,200 minutes on MWF and 2,250
minutes on TH (Table 6). With respect to the HLC guidelines, Purdue is currently at 98% of the
expectation for a MWF class and 100% of a TH class. From Table 3, it is known that the average peer
institution university has less scheduled class time, at 95% to 97% of the HLC guidelines. Dividing the
2,250 minutes required to meet the credit hour definition for a 3 credit class by 60 and 90 minutes
results in MWF calendars with 37.5 days and TH calendars with 25 days of instruction, respectively. The
number of MWF class days is rounded to 37 days.
Table 6. Instructional Time and Days per Term for 3 Credit Course
Current Purdue
Typical Peer
Characteristics for 3 credit class
Calendar
University Calendar
Number of class sessions for MWF (days)
44.0
42.7
Length of Class Period (minutes)
50
50
Minutes per 3 credit class
2,200
2,135
Percent of HLC MWF
97.8%
94.9%
Number of class sessions for TH (days)
30.0
29.1
Length of Class Period (minutes)
75
75
Minutes per 3 credit class
2,250
2,183
Percent of HLC TH
100%
97.0%
5
Balanced Trimester
Calendar
37.0
60
2,220
98.7%
25.0
90
2,250
100%
The University of Michigan defines their semesters as Fall, Winter, and Spring/Summer. Their Winter term is the
same as all peer institutions spring term. Thus, the Michigan Winter term is defined to be Spring term.
6
www.regents.umich.edu/meetings/05-13/2013-05-X-3.pdf
9
University Holidays
It is assumed that the current university holidays will be celebrated under all scenarios. Holidays
recognized in 2013-14 are Independence Day (July 4), Labor Day (September 3), Thanksgiving Holiday
(November 22 & 23), Christmas Holiday (December 24 & 25), President's Designated Holiday (December
31), New Year’s Day (January 1), Martin Luther King Day (January 21), and Memorial Day (May 27).7
Labor Day is celebrated on the first Monday in September and can occur from September 1st through
the 7th. Thanksgiving is a federal holiday on the fourth Thursday of November, and can range from
November 22 to the 28th. Martin Luther King Day is federal holiday celebrated on the third Monday of
January, and can occur from January 15th to the 21st. Memorial Day is observed on the last Monday of
May, and can occur from May 25th to the 31st.
University Regulations and Guidelines
Purdue’s current regulations8 pertaining to the academic calendar are:



The first semester shall:
o Begin on either the 3rd or 4th Monday of August.
o Be in recess Monday and Tuesday of the 8th week, and Wednesday through Saturday of
Thanksgiving week.
o Classes will end on Saturday of the 16th week, followed by six days of final exams to run
Monday through Saturday during the 17th week of the term.
o Final exams or classes shall not occur after December 20.
The second semester shall:
o Begin on either the 1st or 2nd Monday of January, (but not before January 7).
o Be in recess during the tenth week.
o Classes will end on Saturday of the 16th week, followed by six days of final exams to run
Monday through Saturday during the 17th week of the term.
The summer session shall begin on the next Monday following the spring commencement and
will be comprised of one 4-week and one 8-week, or two 6-week module (s) or other
configurations as approved by the Provost Office.
The University of Michigan’s academic calendar guidelines9 are:


For all terms:
o There must be a minimum of 13 class meetings for each day of the week.
o There must be at least one study day before exams begin (including weekends).
o Football games are not a factor in setting the fall academic calendar.
o Do not provide guidelines for the timing of breaks.
The first semester shall:
o Begin on the 1st Tuesday after the 1st Monday of September (to start after Labor Day).
o Classes will end on Tuesday of the 15th week.
o Study days are Wednesday of the 15th week.
o Six days of exams will run Thursday and Friday of the 15th week and Monday through
Thursday of the 16th week.
o The last day of finals shall not occur after December 23.
7
http://www.purdue.edu/hr/Benefits/holidays.html
http://www.purdue.edu/studentregulations/regulations_procedures/calendar.html
9
www.regents.umich.edu/meetings/05-13/2013-05-X-3.pdf
8
10


The second semester shall:
o Begin on the 1st Wednesday after the 1st Monday in January (to start after January 2).
o Classes will end on Tuesday of the 15th week.
o Study days are Wednesday of the 15th week.
o Six days of exams will run Thursday and Friday of the 15th week and Monday through
Thursday of the 16th week.
o Exams are not scheduled for the 1st day of Passover.
The first summer session shall:
o Begin on the next Monday following the spring commencement and will be comprised
of two 7-week terms.
o Each term shall have at least 1 study day and 2 exam days.
The proposed balanced trimester calendar is built with two key constructs. First, the calendar is built
with 14-week fall and spring semesters (including one week of exams), and with two 7-week summer
sessions built around a summer break during the week with the 4th of July. This week is chosen for a
summer break to coincide with Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) Rule 15-3.4 that
prohibits all contact between athletes and coaches (including conditioning) during this week.10 For
many families with high school aged children this is one of the few weeks available for family vacations
during the summer.
Second, the academic calendar is built to maximize the number of “full class” weeks, or weeks with class
Monday through Friday. The maximum number of “full class” weeks per term is 12 (37/3 or 25/2).
Thus, there can be 12 “full class” weeks per term and one week with 2 days of class. The predisposition
for “full class” weeks also leads to beginning fall and spring terms during or after weeks with Labor Day
and Martin Luther King Day, respectively.



The summer session shall:
o Have a have a week long break during the week with the Fourth of July holiday.
o Have two 7-week sessions, one ending the week before July 4, the other beginning the
week after July 4.
o Each summer session will have at least 32 days of class and 2 days of final exams.
The fall semester shall:
o Have at least one full week following the end of the 2nd summer term. This means that
the fall term will begin from September 7 to September 13.
o Combine fall break and Thanksgiving break for a week long break, rather than having
two partial weeks in the fall.
o Have six days of exams that will run on the 14th week of the semester.
o The last day of finals shall not occur after December 22.
The spring semester shall:
o Begin on Thursday of the week with Martin Luther King Day holiday. Thus, classes will
begin between January 18 and January 24.
o Have a week long break during the 8th week of the semester.
o Have six days of exams that will run on the 14th week of the semester.
A Comparison of Academic Calendars
Academic calendars are obtained or built per the assumptions in the prior section for 11 years, from
2013-14 through 2023-24 for the current Purdue calendar, the University of Michigan unbalanced
10
http://www.ihsaa.org/portals/0/Flip%20Book/By-Laws_2/index.html
11
trimester, and the proposed balanced trimester. Purdue calendars are published through the year 202627.11 The University of Michigan calendar is available through 2016, after which the guidelines from
footnote 9 are applied.12 The balanced trimester calendar is constructed observing the assumptions in
the prior section.
In Appendix B, the three calendars are aligned for 2013-14. The same process was followed for each
academic year from 2013-14 through 2023-24. The year is presumed to start with the beginning of fall
term. Color shading is used to identify days with class (in yellow), university holidays (in blue), final
exams (in red), student breaks (in tan), reading days (in light green), and days between terms (in violet).
If the column “Full Class?” is “Yes” it means that classes are taught from Monday through Friday for that
particular week. A break day is defined as a day that students are not scheduled for class, reading, final
exams, or is not between terms of the year.
Each of the calendars has a rhythm that is consistent across the 11 academic years. The current Purdue
calendar has:






a 17-week fall term,
usually a 3-week break between fall and spring (which can occasionally be 4-weeks),
a 17-week spring term,
a 1-week break between spring and summer terms,
a 12-week summer session (divided into 4 and 8 week sessions), and
ends with 2 weeks of break before the next academic year begins (Table 7).
Thus, Purdue’s academic year includes 46 weeks with scheduled instruction or finals, and 6.2 weeks of
breaks between terms. The range of starting and ending dates by term are found in Table 8.
While there are 46 weeks of instruction with Purdue’s current calendar, only 35 weeks are “full class”
weeks (Table 7). The last week of the fall and spring term are not included as a “full class” week
because of the restrictions on course activities associated with “dead week”. These weeks can be
relatively unimportant for lecture based courses because there may be no homework, exams, quizzes,
etc. In contrast, these weeks are heavily utilized by lab based or project intensive courses.
The proposed balanced trimester calendar has:






a 15-week fall term,
a 4-week break between fall and spring,
a 15-week spring term,
either a 1 or 2 week break between spring and summer terms,
a 15-week summer session (divided into two 7 week sessions, with a weeklong break between
sessions), and
ends with either 1 or 2 weeks of break before the next academic year begins (Table 7).
Compared to the current Purdue calendar, the balanced trimester has one less week of total instruction
(Table 7). However, the number of “full class” weeks is the same for the current calendar and the
balanced trimester, at 35 weeks. If the two summer terms would be combined, there would be a 12th
full class week in the summer term as well. One other difference is the structure of fall and spring are
identical for the balanced trimester, while under the current calendar, there is one more “full class”
week in the fall than in the spring. This arises by as consolidating fall and Thanksgiving breaks.
11
12
http://www.purdue.edu/registrar/Calendars/
http://ro.umich.edu/calendar/
12
Table 7. Number of Average Weeks by Term, Purdue, Balanced Trimester, and Unbalanced Trimester
Term
Fall Term
Term Break fall/spring
Spring Term
Current Purdue
Balanced Trimester
Number of weeks
Number of weeks
Calendar
Full Class
Calendar
Full Class
17.0
a
b
12.0
3.2
b
17.0
12.0
15.0
na
a
13.0
4.0
na
b
12.0
15.0
Unbalanced Trimester
(Michigan)
Number of weeks
Calendar
16.0
Full Class
11.0
1.4
na
b
12.0
17.0
Term Break spring/summer
1.0
na
1.6
na
0.0
na
Summer 1
4.0
3.0
7.0
5.0
8.0
5.0
b
6.0
7.9
5.4
Summer 2
8.0
7.0
Term Break summer/fall
2.0
na
1.5
na
1.7
na
46.0
35.0
45.0
35.0
48.9
33.4
Total weeks with instruction
Total break weeks
Total weeks
8.0
6.2
na
7.1
na
3.1
na
52.2
35.0
52.1
35.0
52.0
33.4
a
The week before finals is not included as a “full class” week because of “dead week” limitations on class
activities.
b
Includes a scheduled weeklong break during the term.
Table 8. A Comparison of the Current and Proposed Academic Calendars, 2013-14 to 2023-24
Typical Time Frame
Fall Term start
Fall Term end
Term break fall/spring start
Term break fall/spring end
Spring Term start
Spring Term end
Term break spring/summer start
Term break spring/summer end
Summer 2014 Term I start
Summer 2014 Term I end
Summer 2014 Term II start
Summer 2014 Term II end
Term break summer/fall start
Term break summer/fall end
Current Purdue
Calendar
8/19 to 8/25
12/14 to 12/20
12/15 to 12/21
1/6 to 1/12
1/7 to 1/13
5/4 to 5/10
5/5 to 5/11
5/12 to 5/18
5/13 to 5/19
6/8 to 6/14
6/10 to 6/16
8/3 to 8/9
8/3 to 8/9
8/17 5o 8/23
Balanced Trimester
9/7 to 9/13
12/16 to 12/22
12/17 to 12/23
1/17 to 1/23
1/18 to 1/24
4/27 to 5/4
4/28 to 5/5
6/9 to 5/15
5/10 to 5/16
6/26 to 7/2
7/6 to 7/12
8/20 to 8/26
8/21 to 8/27
9/2 to 9/8
Unbalanced Trimester
(Michigan)
9/2 to 9/8
12/19 to 12/23
12/20 to 12/24
1/2 to 1/8
1/3 to 1/9
4/25 to 5/2
4/26 to 5/3
4/29 to 5/6
4/30 to 5/7
6/21 to 6/27
6/26 to 7/3
8/17 to 8/23
8/18 to 8/24
9/1 to 9/7
The balanced trimester calendar has a 4-week break between fall and spring term, which happens every
five or six years with the current calendar. The breaks between spring/summer and summer/fall will be
1 or 2 weeks, depending on the timing of the 4th of July. The range of start and end dates is found in
Table 8.
The University of Michigan calendar has:
13






a 16-week fall term,
either a 1 or 2 week break between fall and spring terms,
a 17-week spring term,
a 1 day break between spring and summer terms,
a 16-week summer session (divided into two 7 week sessions), and
ends with 2 weeks of break before the next academic year begins (Table 7).
Michigan’s unbalanced trimester has the fewest break weeks per year at 3.3 weeks (Table 7). Despite
the heavy utilization of the calendar, Michigan also has the fewest “full class” weeks, with only 33.4
weeks. The start and end dates are found in Table 8.
A comparison of the allocation of days finds that the current Purdue calendar and the proposed
trimester are consistent from term to term (Table 9). However, that is not the case at Michigan. In fact
the number of days can vary from term to term, as well as from year to year. The lack of consistency in
the basic structure of the calendar is viewed as a weakness because it will require adjustments to the
structure of a class depending upon the year and term.
Table 9. Allocation of Days per Term, Current, Balanced, and Unbalanced Calendar
Purdue
Class Days Exams Days Reading Days Instructional Break Days Holidays Total
74.0
6.0
0.0
80.0
3.0
3.0
86.0
Fall
74.0
6.0
0.0
80.0
5.0
1.0
86.0
Spring
19.0
0.0
0.0
19.0
0.0
1.0
20.0
Summer I
39.0
0.0
0.0
39.0
0.0
1.0
40.0
Summer II
206.0
12.0
0.0
218.0
8.0
6.0
232.0
Total
Balanced Tri Class Days Exams Days Reading Days Instructional Break Days Holidays Total
62.0
6.0
0.0
68.0
3.0
2.0
73.0
Fall
62.0
6.0
0.0
68.0
5.0
1.0
74.0
Spring
32.0
2.0
0.0
34.0
4.0
1.0
35.0
Summer I
32.0
2.0
0.0
34.0
4.0
1.0
39.0
Summer II
188.0
16.0
0.0
204.0
12.0
5.0
221.0
Total
Michigan
Class Days Exams Days Reading Days Instructional Break Days Holidays Total
67.0
6.0
1.0
74.0
2.0
3.6
79.6
Fall
69.0
6.0
1.0
76.0
5.0
1.6
82.6
Spring
33.9
2.0
1.1
37.0
1.0
1.0
39.0
Summer I
33.7
2.0
0.9
33.6
1.5
1.0
39.1
Summer II
203.6
16.0
4.0
223.6
9.5
7.3
240.4
Total
14
Discussion and Ramifications
Again, the focus of this analysis is only to consider the feasibility of the alternative academic calendars
and the use of instructional time. In short, both a balanced and an unbalanced trimester calendar are
feasible alternatives to the current calendar. However, the unbalanced trimester as practiced by the
Michigan calendar is viewed with disfavor because of its lack of consistency. Three implications arise
from the adoption of a balanced trimester.
First, the 13 weeks of instruction with the balanced trimester will only require 12 full weeks of
instruction, plus two days in the 13th week. There will be 37 MWF class periods and 25 TH class periods
per fall and spring term. A choice must be made as to which week of the term is a partial week.
Beginning classes during the weeks with Labor Day or Martin Luther King Day helps maximize the
number of “full class” weeks. This also would work well with the schedule of Boiler Gold Rush in the fall
term.
Conversely, if the first 12 weeks of class are “full class” weeks, the last day of scheduled class would fall
on a Tuesday. Wednesday could be designated as a reading day, with finals to begin on Thursday. After
taking Sunday as a break, finals would resume on Monday and end on Tuesday. This would provide
more time for the faculty to grade student work, who now may give a final on Saturday and spend the
rest of the weekend grading to meet the Tuesday deadline to submit grades.
Second, the balanced trimester calendar offers some advantages for summer sessions. The new
summer session calendar has 34 and 35 days available for instruction in sessions 1 and 2, respectively.
The difference arises because of the Memorial Day holiday. Allowing time for 2 exam days in each
summer session and ending on a Thursday in the second summer session, would leave 32 days for
instruction in both terms.
Fall/Spring TH courses are scheduled to meet 25 times with the balanced trimester calendar. With 32
days of instruction available over 7 weeks in a summer session, a TH course needing 25 days for lecture
can be offered in the identical structure as it would be in fall/spring, i.e., for 90 minutes per day. Some
modifications would be required for a MWF course from Fall/Spring to fit into the 32 days of available
instruction in a summer schedule. If the course were to meet every day, it would need to meet for 70
minutes instead of 60 minutes.
Finally, the longer winter break might allow for Maymester type courses, either online or perhaps as
study abroad. The University of Iowa and Maryland conduct a 3-week winter term.
It is important to note that switching to a balanced trimester may affect the use of instructional time in
at least five ways: 1) the hours of operation, 2) evening exams, 3) final exams, 4) dead week, and 5)
drop/add deadlines. As such, a shift in the calendar should also consider the whether any of these
policies need to be amended. The remainder of this section simply identifies how a shift to a balanced
trimester might affect these closely related policies.
1. Hours of operation13
Purdue’s regularly scheduled classes meet from 7:30 am through 5:45 pm, Monday through Friday.
MWF classes have ten 50-minute class periods (with 10 minutes between classes), while TH classes have
seven 75-minutes class periods (with 15 minutes between classes). To comply with the definition of a
credit hour, class times must increase to 60 minutes for MWF and 90 minutes for TH. In addition, the
13
Technically, Purdue Regulations (http://www.purdue.edu/univregs/academicprocedures/index.html) do not
define the hours of operation. Implicitly they are inferred from the evening examination regulation.
15
time between classes is assumed to be 15 minutes for each day of the week. Thus, unless the hours of
operation change, there would be 8 class periods on MWF and 6 class periods on TH.
Given current space utilization (especially for large classrooms and some lab courses), a reduction in the
number of class periods per day will have two adverse consequences. First, students may find it more
difficult to build a working class schedule with fewer time slots from which to select courses. Second,
and more importantly, unless the length of the day was to increase, capacity for undergraduates would
fall by 5 to 10 percent, to roughly 27,000 students (Murray). This may be ameliorated by a steady shift
of students taking more classes online, growth in summer enrollment, the potential for more study
abroad, and a calendar that promotes an expansion of cooperative education.
In contrast, extending the day has three potential adverse consequences. First, it would create conflicts
with student activities that meet early in the evening. Second, it would increase the number of class
times that meet outside of “prime” academic time. Attendance issues might arise for classes ending at
7:30 Friday night. Third, it would conflict with existing policies for night exams.
A Purdue Student Government (PSG) recommendation has asked to move the start time of the day back
to 8:00 am because studies suggest that later start times improve attendance. PSG is also
recommending that the hours of operation be extended to add evening courses. This would give
students more scheduling options, but as mentioned likely would present conflicts with evening
examinations or student activities.
The effect of increasing the length of class will either reduce the number of available
class periods per week (from 17 to 14) or require that we lengthen the hours of
operation.
2. Evening examinations14
In November 2011, PSG Recommendation 11-6 encouraged the faculty to review the use of evening
examinations. Current policy generally allows for two 60-minute evening exam periods per night,
Monday through Thursday. Extending the hours of operation will create conflicts with evening exams,
which are scheduled from 6:30 to 7:30 pm and 8:00 to 9:00 pm.
Three main reasons are provided for the use of evening exams. First, evening examinations are viewed
as important in multidivision courses because students from sections occurring later in the week may
have an advantage by learning about the structure of an examination. Second, some courses schedule
evening examinations to reduce time pressure found during the regularly scheduled course. Finally,
some courses use evening examinations to lessen cheating by moving the class to a larger room,
allowing for alternate seating.
Students suggest that the use of night examinations creates conflicts with their participation in student
organizations, conflicts for students with more than one night exam on the same evening, and presents
challenges for students with work or family responsibilities in the evening.
It is probably not practical to extend the length of day beyond 9:00 pm to give an evening exam.
However, even if the day is extended, it may be possible to have four evening exam periods per week.
Limiting the number of evening exams will require that guidelines be established to set priorities for
courses eligible for evening exams.
Extending the day will require either limiting the number of evening exams or starting
them at later times.
14
http://www.purdue.edu/univregs/academicprocedures/examinations.html
16
3. Final examinations15
Currently, final exams are scheduled across 29 two-hour time slots over a 6-day period (or 5 periods per
day, with no late exam on Saturday). The key guiding principles are to minimize: 1) direct student
conflicts, 2) the number of students with more than two exams per day, and 3) students with
consecutive exams. A single course-wide exam can be scheduled for any course.
PSG Recommendation 11-5 requested that a Final Examination Task Force be created to review the
regulations and policies governing the scheduling of final examinations. The students seek a policy
similar to that at the University of Michigan or the University of Minnesota where the time of the final
examination is known when a student registers for the class. The students also report that many
scheduled examinations are not held.
One way to adopt the PSG recommendation would be to align finals with the 17 distinct class periods.
This would allow us to complete finals in five days instead of six days. By offering 3 or 4 finals a day,
there would likely be fewer instances of more than two finals per day. Moreover, the student would
know of the challenge when they enroll in the class as they build their schedule. However, it would also
mean there are no course-wide examinations for multidivisional classes.
If the number of class periods per week change, the policy for scheduling finals should be
considered.
4. Dead week16
Dead week is the unofficial name for the current academic regulation for the academic year and
calendar that prevents examinations or quizzes in the week preceding final examinations. This week is
heavily utilized by and important for many final lab exams and final presentations for project based
courses.
Some members of the faculty suggest that the current academic regulation for “dead week” results in
little instructional activity during the week and question its continued validity. They would replace it
with a reading day. Students state in some cases the instructor and students agree to ignore the
regulation and take the final exam early. There is a concern because while the instructor typically states
that everyone must agree, students feel peer pressure to agree with the crowd.
Shortening the number of instructional weeks by shifting to a balance trimester puts a
premium on class time. In turn, this requires that we reconsider the dead week policy
because it limits the opportunity to use the class time for some classes.
5. Drop/add deadline17
Currently, students may change drop a class without approvals (signatures by the instructor/advisor) for
2-weeks while they have a 1-week period to add a course without approvals. Some argue, especially
with a shorter semester, that the two time periods should both be 1-week. Faculty members suggest
that having a more accurate class roster earlier will help them launch the course at the beginning of the
term. Accurate course rosters are especially important for courses using groups or Team Based
Learning. The students point out that course descriptions found in MyPurdue are cryptic, and it is
difficult to understand the expectations of a course, before sitting in the class for several periods. The
15
http://www.purdue.edu/univregs/academicprocedures/calendar.html
http://www.purdue.edu/univregs/academicprocedures/calendar.html
17
http://www.purdue.edu/univregs/academicprocedures/registration.html
16
17
students also advocate that copies of prior term syllabi be made available so students have more
information about courses as they build their course schedule.
As with dead week, shortening the number of instructional weeks by shifting to a
balance trimester puts a premium on class time. In turn, this requires that we reconsider
the drop/add policy.
Summary
In conclusion, a calendar with 14-week fall/spring semesters and two 7-week summer sessions is
technically feasible, and in some ways is an improvement on the current calendar. It provides an
opportunity to take a careful step towards a year round university calendar. But switching the calendar
will require a number of other changes on campus. Foremost among the questions would be what the
nature of the faculty appointment is.18 In addition, a list almost 100 questions were raised at a
University Senate meeting in October 2012 (Dooley). If the campus feels there is merit in this calendar,
the next step is to investigate those questions.
Sources
Blumenstyk, Goldie. (2013). “Academic Calendars Enter a Season of Change.” The Chronicle of Higher
Education. Article 141895, September 30, 2013.
Dooley, Frank. (2012) “Questions Related to Trimesters.”
http://www.purdue.edu/provost/backup/initiatives/trimester/documents/Trimester%20Questi
ons%209%20November%202012%20%20FJD.pdf
Higher Learning Commission. (2011). Protocol for Peer Reviewers Reviewing Credit Hours Under the
Higher Learning Commission’s New Policies. Chicago, IL. http://ncahlc.org/Information-forInstitutions/federal-compliance-program.html.
Hoover, Eric. (2013). “For Some at U. of Florida, Spring and Summer Are the New Academic Year.” The
Chronicle of Higher Education. Article 137359, February 13, 2013.
Murray, Keith. (2011). “Balanced Trimester Plan.” Memo to Dr. Sands. See additional documents for
October 15, 2012 University Senate meeting, https://www.purdue.edu/senate/meetings.cfm.
Sands, Tim. “Senate Decadal Update: Jan. 23, 2012.” Report to the University Senate, January 23, 2012.
https://www.purdue.edu/senate/meetings/index.html
18
http://www.purdue.edu/policies/human-resources/c-26.html
18
Appendix A – Links for Calendars
Institution
Arizona State
Cal-Berkeley
Florida
Georgia Tech
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Maryland
Michigan
MSU
Minnesota
Nebraska
Ohio State
Penn State
Purdue
Rutgers
Texas Austin
Texas A&M
Wisconsin
Link for calendar
https://students.asu.edu/academic-calendar#fall13
http://registrar.berkeley.edu/CalendarDisp.aspx?terms=current
https://catalog.ufl.edu/ugrad/current/Pages/dates-and-deadlines.aspx
http://www.registrar.gatech.edu/calendar/
http://senate.illinois.edu/ep0733.asp
http://enrollmentbulletin.indiana.edu/pages/nineyr.php
http://www.registrar.uiowa.edu/calendars/fiveyearcalendar.aspx
http://www.provost.umd.edu/calendar/13.html
http://www.ro.umich.edu/calendar/
https://www.reg.msu.edu/ROInfo/Calendar/Academic20132014.asp
www1.umn.edu/usenate/calendars/13-14tc.html
www.unl.edu/regrec/calendar/calendar_main.shtml
registrar.osu.edu/staff/bigcal.asp
registrar.psu.edu/academic_calendar/calendar_index.cfm
www.purdue.edu/registrar/Calendars/Academic%20Calendars/2013-14.pdf
http://scheduling.rutgers.edu/calendar.shtml
http://registrar.utexas.edu/calendars/13-14
http://registrar.tamu.edu/general/calendar.aspx
www.secfac.wisc.edu/acadcal/20112016.pdf
19
Appendix B. Current and Proposed Academic Calendar, Fall 2013 through Summer 2014
Current Purdue Calendar
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thur
Yellow shading = Class
Fri
Proposed Purdue Balanced Trimester Calendar
Sat
Full
class
Blue Shading = holiday
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thur
Red Shading = Final exams
Fri
Sat
Full
class
Tan Shading = Student Break
8/19
8/20
8/21
8/22
8/23
Yes
8/19
8/20
8/21
8/22
8/23
8/26
8/27
8/28
8/29
8/30
Yes
8/26
8/27
8/28
8/29
8/30
Prior Yr
Michigan Unbalanced Trimester Calendar
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thur
Green Shading = Reading Day
Fri
Sat
Full
class
Violet Shading = B/n Terms
8/19
8/20
8/21
8/22
8/23
8/26
8/27
8/28
8/29
8/30
9/2
9/3
9/4
9/5
9/6
No
9/2
9/3
9/4
9/5
9/6
9/2
9/3
9/4
9/5
9/6
No
9/9
9/10
9/11
9/12
9/13
Yes
9/9
9/10
9/11
9/12
9/13
No
9/9
9/10
9/11
9/12
9/13
Yes
9/16
9/17
9/18
9/19
9/20
Yes
9/16
9/17
9/18
9/19
9/20
Yes
9/16
9/17
9/18
9/19
9/20
Yes
9/23
9/24
9/25
9/26
9/27
Yes
9/23
9/24
9/25
9/26
9/27
Yes
9/23
9/24
9/25
9/26
9/27
Yes
9/30
10/1
10/2
10/3
10/4
Yes
9/30
10/1
10/2
10/3
10/4
Yes
9/30
10/1
10/2
10/3
10/4
Yes
10/7
10/8
10/9
10/10
10/12
No
10/7
10/8
10/9
10/10
10/12
Yes
10/7
10/8
10/9
10/10
10/12
Yes
10/14
10/15
10/16
10/17
10/18
Yes
10/14
10/15
10/16
10/17
10/18
Yes
10/14
10/15
10/16
10/17
10/18
No
10/21
10/22
10/23
10/24
10/25
Yes
10/21
10/22
10/23
10/24
10/25
Yes
10/21
10/22
10/23
10/24
10/25
Yes
10/28
10/29
10/30
10/31
11/1
Yes
10/28
10/29
10/30
10/31
11/1
Yes
10/28
10/29
10/30
10/31
11/1
Yes
11/4
11/5
11/6
11/7
11/8
Yes
11/4
11/5
11/6
11/7
11/8
Yes
11/4
11/5
11/6
11/7
11/8
Yes
11/11
11/12
11/13
11/14
11/15
Yes
11/11
11/12
11/13
11/14
11/15
Yes
11/11
11/12
11/13
11/14
11/15
Yes
11/18
11/19
11/20
11/21
11/22
Yes
11/18
11/19
11/20
11/21
11/22
Yes
11/18
11/19
11/20
11/21
11/22
Yes
11/25
11/26
11/27
11/28
11/29
No
11/25
11/26
11/27
11/28
11/29
Na
11/25
11/26
11/27
11/28
11/29
No
12/2
12/3
12/4
12/5
12/6
Dead weeks
12/2
12/3
12/4
12/5
12/6
Yes
12/2
12/3
12/4
12/5
12/6
Yes
No
12/9
12/10
12/11
12/12
12/13
12/9
12/10
12/11
12/12
12/13
12/16
12/17
12/18
12/19
12/20
12/14
12/16
12/17
12/18
12/19
12/20
12/23
12/24
12/25
12/26
12/27
12/23
12/24
12/25
12/26
12/30
12/31
1/1
1/2
1/3
12/30
12/31
1/1
1/6
1/7
1/8
1/9
1/10
1/6
1/7
1/8
1/13
1/14
1/15
1/16
1/17
Yes
1/13
1/14
1/20
1/21
1/22
1/23
1/24
No
1/20
1/27
1/28
1/29
1/30
1/31
Yes
2/3
2/4
2/5
2/6
2/7
Yes
2/10
2/11
2/12
2/13
2/14
Yes
12/9
12/10
12/11
12/12
12/13
12/16
12/17
12/18
12/19
12/20
12/27
12/23
12/24
12/25
12/26
12/27
1/2
1/3
12/30
12/31
1/1
1/2
1/3
1/9
1/10
1/6
1/7
1/8
1/9
1/10
No
1/15
1/16
1/17
1/13
1/14
1/15
1/16
1/17
Yes
1/21
1/22
1/23
1/24
No
1/20
1/21
1/22
1/23
1/24
No
1/27
1/28
1/29
1/30
1/31
Yes
1/27
1/28
1/29
1/30
1/31
Yes
2/3
2/4
2/5
2/6
2/7
Yes
2/3
2/4
2/5
2/6
2/7
Yes
2/10
2/11
2/12
2/13
2/14
Yes
2/10
2/11
2/12
2/13
2/14
Yes
20
No
12/21
Current Purdue Calendar
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thur
Yellow shading = Class
Fri
Proposed Purdue Balanced Trimester Calendar
Sat
Full
class
Blue Shading = holiday
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thur
Red Shading = Final exams
Fri
Sat
Full
class
Tan Shading = Student Break
Michigan Unbalanced Trimester Calendar
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thur
Green Shading = Reading Day
Fri
Sat
Full
class
Violet Shading = B/n Terms
2/17
2/18
2/19
2/20
2/21
Yes
2/17
2/18
2/19
2/20
2/21
Yes
2/17
2/18
2/19
2/20
2/21
Yes
2/24
2/25
2/26
2/27
2/28
Yes
2/24
2/25
2/26
2/27
2/28
Yes
2/24
2/25
2/26
2/27
2/28
Yes
3/3
¾
3/5
3/6
3/7
Yes
3/3
3/4
3/5
3/6
3/7
Yes
3/3
3/4
3/5
3/6
3/7
3/10
3/11
3/12
3/13
3/14
Yes
3/10
3/11
3/12
3/13
3/14
3/10
3/11
3/12
3/13
3/14
Yes
3/17
3/18
3/19
3/20
3/21
3/17
3/18
3/19
3/20
3/21
Yes
3/17
3/18
3/19
3/20
3/21
Yes
3/24
3/25
3/26
3/27
3/28
Yes
3/24
3/25
3/26
3/27
3/28
Yes
3/24
3/25
3/26
3/27
3/28
Yes
3/31
4/1
4/2
4/3
4/4
Yes
3/31
4/1
4/2
4/3
4/4
Yes
3/31
4/1
4/2
4/3
4/4
Yes
4/7
4/8
4/9
4/10
4/11
Yes
4/7
4/8
4/9
4/10
4/11
Yes
4/7
4/8
4/9
4/10
4/11
Yes
4/14
4/15
4/16
4/17
4/18
Yes
4/14
4/15
4/16
4/17
4/18
Yes
4/14
4/15
4/16
4/17
4/18
Yes
4/21
4/22
4/23
4/24
4/25
Yes
4/21
4/22
4/23
4/24
4/25
Yes
4/21
4/22
4/23
4/24
4/25
No
4/28
4/29
4/30
5/1
5/2
4/28
4/29
4/30
5/1
5/2
4/28
4/29
4/30
5/1
5/2
5/5
5/6
5/7
5/8
5/9
5/5
5/6
5/7
5/8
5/9
5/5
5/6
5/7
5/8
5/9
No
5/12
5/13
5/14
5/15
5/16
5/12
5/13
5/14
5/15
5/16
Yes
5/12
5/13
5/14
5/15
5/16
Yes
5/19
5/20
5/21
5/22
5/23
Yes
5/19
5/20
5/21
5/22
5/23
Yes
5/19
5/20
5/21
5/22
5/23
Yes
5/26
5/27
5/28
5/29
5/30
No
5/26
5/27
5/28
5/29
5/30
No
5/26
5/27
5/28
5/29
5/30
No
6/2
6/3
6/4
6/5
6/6
Yes
6/2
6/3
6/4
6/5
6/6
Yes
6/2
6/3
6/4
6/5
6/6
Yes
Dead week
5/10
5/3
6/9
6/10
6/11
6/12
6/13
Yes
6/9
6/10
6/11
6/12
6/13
Yes
6/9
6/10
6/11
6/12
6/13
Yes
6/16
6/17
6/18
6/19
6/20
Yes
6/16
6/17
6/18
6/19
6/20
Yes
6/16
6/17
6/18
6/19
6/20
Yes
6/23
6/24
6/25
6/26
6/27
Yes
6/23
6/24
6/25
6/26
6/27
No
6/23
6/24
6/25
6/26
6/27
No
6/30
7/1
7/2
7/3
7/4
No
6/30
7/1
7/2
7/3
7/4
6/30
7/1
7/2
7/3
7/4
No
7/7
7/8
7/9
7/10
7/11
Yes
7/7
7/8
7/9
7/10
7/11
Yes
7/7
7/8
7/9
7/10
7/11
Yes
7/14
7/15
7/16
7/17
7/18
Yes
7/14
7/15
7/16
7/17
7/18
Yes
7/14
7/15
7/16
7/17
7/18
Yes
7/21
7/22
7/23
7/24
7/25
Yes
7/21
7/22
7/23
7/24
7/25
Yes
7/21
7/22
7/23
7/24
7/25
Yes
7/28
7/29
7/30
7/31
8/1
Yes
7/28
7/29
7/30
7/31
8/1
Yes
7/28
7/29
7/30
7/31
8/1
Yes
Yes
8/4
8/5
8/6
8/7
8/8
8/4
8/5
8/6
8/7
8/8
Yes
8/4
8/5
8/6
8/7
8/8
Yes
8/11
8/12
8/13
8/14
8/15
8/11
8/12
8/13
8/14
8/15
Yes
8/11
8/12
8/13
8/14
8/15
No
8/18
8/19
8/20
8/21
8/22
8/18
8/19
8/20
8/21
8/22
No
8/18
8/19
8/20
8/21
8/22
21