Issue date: 10/25/05 Section: News

Sandra Flake, provost [Click to enlarge]

            A plan to change dramatically the fall 2006 class schedule stirred controversy at the Faculty Senate meeting Friday, Oct. 14.

 

            UWF Provost Sandra Flake proposed a new schedule for three credit classes in which the current schedule of Monday/Wednesday/Friday and Tuesday/Thursday classes would be changed to Monday/Thursday and Tuesday/Friday classes.

 

            "This is the freshest idea we have had," Flake said.  "I like it because it helps us with energy efficiency, promotes better utilization of teaching time by the faculty and allows more time for students to prepare for each class."

 

            She said there is currently not enough involvement in Friday meetings and that Friday classes are not utilized well enough.

 

            Flake said Wednesday would become a day for classes that require more time such as labs and studio classes and to promote workshops, internships and campus meetings. 

 

            Flake said faculty would benefit from this new schedule because it allows at least one work day between classes during the week.  "Most of the faculty would either have a Monday/Thursday schedule or a Tuesday/Friday schedule for all of the classes they teach," she said.      

 

            Flake said students would also benefit from this schedule change, because it would allow more time for students to prepare for each class.  "Having two days between classes allows more time for students to get done the work that needs to be done for those classes," she said.

 

            Not everyone shared Flake's enthusiasm about this proposed schedule change.

 

            One concern many senators expressed at Friday's meeting had to do with students' off-campus job schedules. 

 

            They said because this is a resort area, many students rely on hospitality jobs to earn a living and have work schedules that run from Thursday-Sunday.  As a result, making Friday a primary day for classes would be an impossible option for most students. 

 

            Senators even suggested a possible decrease in enrollment at UWF if students felt it would be too difficult to work and go to school at the same time.

 

            It was mentioned that the department of natural sciences is not happy about this proposal because of the amount of time needed for lab classes.  Flake said the new schedule would allow flexibility for these types of situations.

 

            She said that lab and studio classes would probably still have to be scheduled for every day of the week.

 

            "I think it does take creative thinking, and trial schedules will need to be done to see what works," Flake said.

 

            Chemistry professor and faculty senator Jerome Gurst said more than just theoretical schedules need to be tested.  He said the problem with the new schedule is there are fewer class slots. 

 

            Gurst said the new schedule needs to be tested by taking a student's current schedule from each of the departments and seeing if all of the classes and labs fit in the new schedule.

 

             "You need to ask yourself, 'if this student took these classes, could it be done?' My guess is that it can't be done," Gurst said.

 

            SGA senate president Taylor Crawley said the new schedule would be beneficial for someone like her.  "I am an art history major, so having two days to complete projects would be helpful," Crawley said.

 

            Flake said she will do more research on how many students work on Fridays and look more closely at room distribution before further decisions are made.  The Academic Council will also be exploring this issue further. 

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