University to move to earlier, more flexible class schedule for 2009-10 year

The University of Richmond's registrar's office has created a modified class schedule that will shift the first class block to 8 a.m. for most departments and 7:30 a.m. for others, starting next semester.

The revised schedule is designed to create a uniform timetable across all of Richmond's schools, provide increased flexibility for students who wish to cross-register, create a free period for lunch, and lengthen the break between some classes to 40 minutes.

Officials at the Office of the University Registrar will use the 2009-10 academic year as a trial for the change and will solicit feedback from faculty and students before deciding in December whether to continue the schedule for the 2010-11 school year.

The new schedule creates 75-minute blocks for classes throughout each day, a change that will not eliminate 50-minute classes, but will instead nest them inside the longer time slot, said Susan Breedan, university registrar. The current schedule typically structures 75-minute blocks for Tuesdays and Thursdays and 50-minute blocks Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with exceptions for some courses.

All classes will start at the same time -- regardless of their length -- with a 15-minute gap scheduled between each class period, Breedan said. But because days are partitioned into 75-minute sections, students with a 50-minute class will have 40 minutes before the next class period starts -- the 25-minute difference plus the 15-minute gap.

The schedule's unveiling comes nearly two weeks after the Board of Trustees approved the university's five-year strategic plan, which includes a primary goal of designing "multiple interdisciplinary and cross-school connections so as to provide students a distinctive education." The new class schedule appears to be one of the first major proposals designed to satisfy any of the strategic plan's aims, intentional or not.

Breeden said the decision was not directly related to the strategic plan. Instead, it was intended to make it easier for students to register for classes they wanted, regardless of the school.

"I was looking for a way to get more flexibility," she said. "The theory is that, hopefully, it will be easier for students to get the class that they want."

Breeden noted that many business students, who often have 75-minute Monday and Wednesday classes, complained the current schedule restricted them from taking classes in the School of Arts and Sciences.

"Some people love the idea [of a longer break], and some people don't," Breeden said. She said she realized that the time period was not ideal for extra studying, but thought it might offer students other benefits, including time to get food or coffee, talk to a professor or check a book out of the library.

Junior Brittany Johnston said she was unsure about the longer gap.

"It's just an awkward time slot," she said. "Before, you had 15 minutes to get to class, but now you will walk somewhere and then have 20 minutes of sitting around."

Next year's schedule includes a 7:30 a.m. time slot -- a late addition to the official schedule -- but students should not expect many classes to be offered then, Breedan said. A request to add the 7:30 a.m. block came from several departments, including Modern Languages and Latin American and Iberian Studies, because the 8:15 a.m. classes are needed for five-day-a-week languages, Breedan said. Education and Military Science also have special concerns.

Matthew Whittaker, president of the Richmond College Student Government Association, said the proposal to revise class times was first brought before the Senate last spring. At the time, student government leaders were also grappling with the impending switch to the unit system, which prompted them to argue that the new schedule was too much change all at once for students. Officials with the registrar temporarily shelved the issue, but brought it before the Senate again this fall.

During winter break, the university's four student government associations -- RCSGA, the Westhampton College Government Association, Robins School of Business Student Government Association and the Jepson School of Leadership Studies Student Government Association-- were provided an advance copy of the proposal, said Generra Peck, president of WCGA.

Leaders met last week with Provost Stephen Allred and Breeden to discuss the altered class schedule and a new final exam schedule. The final exam schedule was rejected, but the class schedule was approved.

Both Whittaker and Peck said student government members took time to examine the proposed schedule and talk through questions they had.

"The WCGA is initially supportive of a pilot program," Peck said, saying she thought the change would do a lot to support the connectivity goal of the strategic plan.

Unlike some university decisions in the past, Whittaker said he was satisfied with how the schedule had been handled because it included ample input from student representatives.

During the one-year trial period, officials from the registrar's office will ask for feedback from all students and faculty, most likely in the form of online surveys, Breeden said.

"I want to hear if there are real problems," she said. "If people don't like it, we can re-evaluate it. And we may tweak it some."

Ultimately, the provost will determine the new schedule's fate.

Whittaker said he knew the response from students might be lukewarm, but overall, RCSGA members believed in and understood the new schedule's benefits. He advised students to wait until the new system's implementation before deciding whether it's good or bad. The benefits would come through during registration, but it would take some time for students to adjust, he said.

"We know there are some students who will be happy and some who aren't," he said.

"Ultimately, we are concerned about the good of the whole university."

This version of the story updates with minor edits.

Contact staff writer Jill Cavaliere at jill.cavaliere@richmond.edu