The reasoning behind the unpopular schedule switchup
As a way to allocate the required meeting time for each course, Saint Joseph’s University scheduled two constructive days during the spring 2017 semester.
The first constructive day took place on Tuesday April 18, where the university followed a Monday class schedule.
“Because a lot of our holidays fall on a Monday, some of the Mondays get chopped, but we have enough Tuesdays because we don’t chop a lot of Tuesdays out of the calendar,” said Scott Spencer, JD, registrar, student records and financial services.
An academic year should have a minimum of 28 weeks of instructional sessions, According to Pennsylvania Code 31.22. Abiding by this becomes difficult when multiple holidays fall on a Monday or Friday, requiring the university to build in constructive days.
Often times, constructive days do not affect a lot of students or professors because most classes run on the same schedule on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, such as the constructive Friday that will take place on Wednesday May 3.
“I realize it is not much different because mostly Wednesdays and Fridays are the same, but I still needed to make sure that if there were any Friday once a week classes, they got their opportunity to make up any time that they lost from spring break and Easter break,” Spencer said.
However, conflicts occur when a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule runs on a Tuesday or Thursday, such as the constructive Monday that occurred on April 18.
“It [the constructive schedule] is roundly disliked,” Spencer said. ”I understand the concern and why it is a pain. For example, students who go to class in the evenings, like graduate students who are getting bachelor’s degrees, things like that, they plan their schedule around what days of the week they have class. When you mess with that a little bit, it can throw off babysitting schedules and work schedules and that kind of thing, and people don’t like that very much.”
Constructive days can prohibit both students and professors from attending or holding classes if they have other commitments outside of the university.
“I’ve been attending an off-campus class at Penn all semester on Tuesdays, since I have a MWF teaching schedule,” said David Carpenter, Ph.D., associate professor of theology and religious studies. “So that was my conflict. I would prefer that these constructive days be scheduled for the same week day as your regular schedule, but perhaps this is not really an option.”
Additionally, students with jobs often face conflicts with constructive schedules.
“On Tuesdays I work at Kinney from 9-12, so my one program that starts at 11 had to be cancelled, so we didn’t have it that week because it’s for college kids, so they had class,” said Mary Murphy, ‘18.
Murphy explained how she had to switch shifts with other students at The Kinney Center in order to attend their classes on the constructive Monday.
“There are 12 different teams and they all had to find different subs because everyone’s schedules were messed up, so it was kind of hectic,” Murphy said.
Spencer said that the university is always looking for new ways to do things and plans on adjusting the calendar for spring 2018 in order to eliminate one or both constructive days.
“We are trying to work towards getting rid of those constructive days, but still have the meeting times that are required,” Spencer said. “And that is the important thing, is to make sure we hit those meeting hours.”
