Administrators sent a letter to beach residents, landlords and parents last week notified them of an upcoming change in the academic calendar that would move up the beginning of the semester to late August, before Labor Day.
But Academic Vice President Orin Grossman said after the letter had been sent that the change will not go into effect until the 2008-2009 school year.
“At first we thought we would begin early next year (fall 2007), but we realized that people make plans far in advance for vacations, beach rentals, etc.,” he said.
“So at this point we are planning to begin the week before Labor Day beginning fall 2008.”
The letter originally stated that, “…in all probability,” the academic calendar would be revised in time for the 2007-2008 school year. It said that classes would begin about a week earlier than normal, on Aug. 27 2007.
It went on to warn students interested in living at the beach to make the proper accommodations with their landlords to ensure that housing will be available to them for the start of the year.
Currently, the majority of student leases do not begin until Labor Day.
Students said they are generally pleased with the decision.
“I’m happy with the change because usually I’m the last one home every year,” said Nicole Farella ’09. “And I think it will relieve the stress of moving in over a holiday weekend.”
Grossman also said that as of now, the Academic Calendar is set by the administration with general guidance and advice from the faculty, but that they are in the process of changing the calendar committee to include members of the faculty.
The committee, led by Associate Academic Vice President Mary Francis Malone, made the recommendation to join a growing number of schools that begin the academic year before Labor Day. Ultimately, however, the decision to put the changes into effect in 2008 was Grossman’s.
The primary reason for the changes, according to Malone, was to add additional class days, but also to end the exam period earlier.
“(The changes) would provide more timely grade submissions and more time for the various deans’ offices to deal with students in academic jeopardy,” she said.
The calendar committee is working on a three-year calendar which they hope to release in the near future, according to Malone.
Although the class of 2008 will ultimately not be affected by the changes, the class of 2009 will have to make adjustments with their landlords before signing leases.
Vice President of Student Affairs Mark Reed urged students to use caution when considering leases for off-campus housing.
“I would advise a student never to sign a lease more than a year in advance and certainly not before the off-campus housing lottery takes place,” he said. “That being said, some students to it, and I think it’s a big risk.”
For now, however, students aren’t worried about being released from campus and feel that signing the lease can’t be put off until December.
Therefore, one junior said he and his classmates would need every possible advantage when negotiating leases, including starting the house-hunting process early.
“The off-campus lottery is going to be a walk in the park this year,” said Dan Stanzyk ’08. “Fairfield doesn’t even have enough housing for the junior class … getting a beach house can be very competitive.”
Leave a Reply