2008 Woodie Awards
Fall break at SBU falls to the wayside
Tiffany Stroud
Issue date: 10/5/07 Section: Forum
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This year as many of you have noticed, a fall break has not been worked into the school calendar. I decided to further explore why in recent years there has been a fall break and why we do not have one this year.
I spoke with Rob Harris, dean of students. Our conversation, he gave me a better understanding of why a fall break was not on our academic calendar this year.
The decision of having a fall break, or the lack of, is mostly an academic issue. The Higher Learning Commission requires a certain number of minutes for courses. This equates to 15 weeks a semester plus finals. In order for Southwest Baptist University to keep its accreditation, these requirements must be met.
The academic calendar is decided a year in advance. School began on the August 17 last year and a fall break was in place. School started on August 20 this year with a lack of fall break.
So the next question is: would it be better to end the summer sooner, so we can have a fall break, or enjoy the longer summer and go without a fall break? Things do start to pile up in the middle of the semester, but I know I enjoy having a longer summer.
Fall break is good for some students, but it can be detrimental for other students.
"It is noticeable when fall break occurred, some students took all week," said Harris.
Some students need a break in the middle of the semester from their classes. There are other students, when they have a break, tend to continue to slack off after returning to class, which can in turn be harmful to their studies. Then again, some students slack off anyway, even if they do not have a break.
The administration did not take away fall break from the students just for the sake of doing so. They take in account all the variables and base their decision on the well being of the students.
A fall break would definitely be enjoyed by both students and teachers, but is it worth sacrificing a few more days out of the summer?
There have not been any complaints yet, to the Student Life office for the lack of a fall break this year.
If you do have a complaint because fall break is important to you, please realize that administration must keep accreditation and fall break is dispensed based on when the days of the year fall.
I spoke with Rob Harris, dean of students. Our conversation, he gave me a better understanding of why a fall break was not on our academic calendar this year.
The decision of having a fall break, or the lack of, is mostly an academic issue. The Higher Learning Commission requires a certain number of minutes for courses. This equates to 15 weeks a semester plus finals. In order for Southwest Baptist University to keep its accreditation, these requirements must be met.
The academic calendar is decided a year in advance. School began on the August 17 last year and a fall break was in place. School started on August 20 this year with a lack of fall break.
So the next question is: would it be better to end the summer sooner, so we can have a fall break, or enjoy the longer summer and go without a fall break? Things do start to pile up in the middle of the semester, but I know I enjoy having a longer summer.
Fall break is good for some students, but it can be detrimental for other students.
"It is noticeable when fall break occurred, some students took all week," said Harris.
Some students need a break in the middle of the semester from their classes. There are other students, when they have a break, tend to continue to slack off after returning to class, which can in turn be harmful to their studies. Then again, some students slack off anyway, even if they do not have a break.
The administration did not take away fall break from the students just for the sake of doing so. They take in account all the variables and base their decision on the well being of the students.
A fall break would definitely be enjoyed by both students and teachers, but is it worth sacrificing a few more days out of the summer?
There have not been any complaints yet, to the Student Life office for the lack of a fall break this year.
If you do have a complaint because fall break is important to you, please realize that administration must keep accreditation and fall break is dispensed based on when the days of the year fall.
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