Beginning in the 2012-2013 academic year, Fall term will start on Sept. 10 and end before Thanksgiving in order for final examinations to conclude before Thanksgiving break. The primary purpose of the change is to allow professors to maintain continuity in their courses rather than having classes interrupted by a short break just before finals at the end of the term.
In order to allow for a full 10-week term, the break between Summer and Fall term will be shortened. Orientation will also be slightly shortened.
Religion department chair Susan Ackerman, who serves on the Faculty Coordinating Committee, said that the classroom experience is negatively affected by the Thanksgiving holiday. She described the three days of classes following the holiday before reading period as "wasted days" because of the disruption.
"For professors, I think the end of Fall term has become a frustrating time," Ackerman said.
Attendance in class on the Monday and Tuesday before the Thanksgiving has also generally been low around 50 percent which professors find frustrating, Ackerman said.
The change to the Fall term calendar will also allow more students, especially those who live far away, to return home for Thanksgiving, according to Ackerman.
Dean of the Faculty Michael Mastanduno cited the rising price of plane tickets as an important reason for the change. Under the new calendar, students returning home for both Thanksgiving and interim between Fall and Winter terms will not have to make two separate and potentially costly trips.
Paul Lazarow '13, who lives in California, said the change is "fantastic" because it will allow him to go home for Thanksgiving. Lazarow said that in the past, he has gone to New York rather than home for Thanksgiving because the trip home is too long.
Alice Lloyd '13, who lives in Connecticut, said that although she lives close enough to campus that she is able to return home for Thanksgiving with the current calendar, she is looking forward to being able to save money on train tickets when she only has to make the trip once.
Aaditya Talwai '13, who lives in India, said that although he likely will not return home during the interim between Fall and Winter terms due to the travel costs, he is in favor of the change to the calendar because the current calendar "doesn't make a lot of sense."
Talwai said that he did not think spending six weeks on campus between Fall and Winter terms would be boring because there would be so many other students on campus as well. He added that, while six weeks might not be long enough to pursue an internship, he might look for some kind of job during the break.
Several professors expressed interest in offering special courses, programs or trips during the six-week break between Fall and Winter terms for students who are not returning home for the break.
Ackerman agreed the longer break could also allow students to find short-term jobs or abbreviated internships.
"It seems like it might open up some time for some interesting opportunities," she said.
Ackerman, who teaches a class on ancient Egypt, said she would be interested in potentially offering a trip to Egypt during the extended break so that students could see what they have been studying.
"Six weeks is a long gap," she said. "You could pick up three of those weeks and do a three week [foreign study program]."
Lloyd said that she would be interested in a short FSP during the interim as it would likely provide the only opportunity for her to study abroad unless she petitions to go abroad during her senior year.
"They should definitely go somewhere warm," he said. "I'd definitely be down to go somewhere to get out of the cold."
Although the faculty is generally supportive of the change because of the expected improvements to the classroom experience, some professors expressed concerns about the impact the change might have on their research, according to Ackerman. Some anthropologists, for example, indicated that the research they generally conduct in late summer may be affected, according to Ackerman.
The change to the calendar will also push Dartmouth Outing Club First-Year Trips earlier, with the first Trips beginning during Summer term finals. This potentially poses a noise concern for students during exams and also will affect the ability of sophomores to become involved with Trips.
Trips director Emily Unger '11 said that the primary change will be that sophomores will not be able to lead the earliest Trips and may not be able to be involved with certain other aspects of Trips that extend across all trip sections.
Because upperclassman leadership positions in Trips typically generate a lot of interest among students and the program typically turns away many applicants, Unger said she is not concerned about filling the positions.
The calendar change may pose additional challenges to international students. Although the specifics of the impact are still unknown, some international students may not be able to return home during the six-week break and then return to campus because the length of the break could affect their visa status, according to Ackerman.
