The University Senate of Michigan Technological
University proposes that the following principles be used to determine the
University's annual academic calendar.
- Each semester shall have 14 weeks of
instruction, minus the following holidays: Labor Day/K-Day (1), and Homecoming
(.5) in the Fall, and Martin Luther King Day (.5) and Winter Carnival (2) in
the Spring. The total number of instructional days shall be 136.
- Each semester, comprised of instructional
days, holidays, and a one-week break, shall begin on a Monday and continue for
fifteen weeks followed by a maximum five-day examination period. The beginning
of the Fall semester shall be scheduled so that the last day of exams shall
fall on a date in the period from December 15 through December 22, inclusive.
The Spring semester shall begin on the Monday that is 25 days later.
- Fall and Spring semesters shall each have a
one week break. Break in the Fall shall be Thanksgiving week; Spring break
shall fall at the midpoint of the semester.
- Summer sessions will include two different
opportunities. The first shall be a 20-day intensive period of instruction
beginning the second Monday after the end of Spring semester. This includes 18
days of instruction, the Memorial Day holiday and one final examination day.
The second component of summer shall be a double-time summer semester of 36
days of instruction, the Fourth of July holiday and one final examination day.
The summer semester shall begin on the Monday immediately after the end of the
summer intensive period.
Proposal History
In Fall 1997, a Calendar Issues Clarification
Committee (CICC) was formed to deal with the issues related to a shift form a
quarter system to a semester calendar. The committee contained representatives
from all segments of campus, including the Senate president. The CICC's main
charge was to outline the consequences of a shift to semesters; it also
identified the primary concerns voiced by students and other members of the
campus community. The CICC's report was endorsed by the Board of Control,
including a set of "boundary conditions" that identified the primary protections
to be afforded students during the transition to a new calendar. The CICC also
proposed tentative calendars in late fall and winter 1997, which were presented
to and discussed by the Senate, without action requested. The CICC deferred
making a final proposal until the General Education program was approved. The
committee resumed meeting in November 1998, with additional members drawn from
the Senate Instructional Policy and Academic Policy committees. The CICC reached
consensus on this proposal.
The proposal was informally presented to the
Senate on December 2, 1998, for general discussion.
Proposal died: February 3, 1999