Why are there so many examples to check out? There are seven possible Labor Day dates (September 1 through September 7) and each one gives birth to a particular instance of the academic calendar. Taking leap years into consideration doubles the number of spring semester possibilities. Some years Labor Day (MLK Day) is late or early and this can create problems  associated with when we start and finish a particular semester.

To fully understand the issues and constraints we provide a host of background materials. Check out these facts about federal holidays.

This page will be developed as the committee proceeds with its work and as we hear more from the campus community.

Issues

Winter break is longer than at other institutions. Some students would prefer to return sooner and finish sooner.

The end of final exams now comes very late. This is far later than at most other institutions. It impinges on start dates for summer jobs and internships, and overlaps with regional and national student competitions and conferences, leading to more requests for make-up exams.

Some students who serve as TAs and graders in large courses must depart early, increasing the end-of-semester burden on faculty. It restricts the number of weeks in the summer available for students to earn money to support their education. Students in at least one discipline cannot accept summer internships, because they involve 12 weeks of work and there are fewer than 12 weeks available in some years.

FAQ

• Would moving up graduation day create a conflict with Ithaca College, SUNY Cortland, or Tompkins Cortland Community College?
• Is the weather in mid-May less reliable than around Memorial Day?
• Does graduation have to be held on a Sunday?
• Is there an economic impact on Tompkins County if Commencement is moved up?
• If Martin Luther King Day occurs during (instead of before) the spring semester, then what are the ramifications?
• How would the university’s “heating bill” change if we started two weeks earlier?
• What would be the impact on the three-week winter session if we started earlier?
• What would be the impact on summer sessions if we started earlier?

Once a Fall calendar is paired with a Spring calendar, then both the length of the summer break and  the length of the between-semester break can be determined. The lengths of these breaks vary from year to year and  the following  table reports the extremes. [Click of the pairing to see what it looks like for the next ten years. NOT IMPLEMENTED YET ]

F1+S1

In case you have forgotten, here are the calendar frameworks:

• F1: Four August class days into December, 3-day Thanksgiving break
• F2: Two August class days into December, 5-day Thanksgiving break
• S1: Delay February break by one week
• S2: 5-day spring break to March, 2-day break to April
• S3: A 2-week earlier version of the current spring calendar including graduation
• S4: 2-week earlier graduation, no February break, 5-day spring break in the middle

Pick a framework, pick a constituency, and read the comments by those who agree, disagree, or are unsure about the assertion. Approximate number of respondents in brackets.

There are 8 possible full year calendar frameworks.

See how they compare with one another and with the current calendar.

Notes:

1. Percent breakdown of undergraduate participation in the survey: Freshman = 25%, Sophomores = 33%, Juniors = 27%, and Seniors = 15%. Responses are not that different between the classes.
2. Professional Students (less than 100 participated) were  merged with graduate students.
3. Not everybody answers every question. So the green numbers are approximate.
4. Alumni who graduated in 2014, 2015, and 2016 were explicitly invited to participate because they experienced both the current calendar and its  predecessor. It may be assumed that most of the alumni are from this cohort.

The current calendar, that began Fall 2013, has these essential properties.

The committee that developed the current calendar based their work on a set of principles.

Reactions from the Assemblies (SA, GPSA, EA)

The  2014 Senior Survey on the Current Calendar

Periodic review is required by  Senate Resolution 96:

“Be it further resolved that the academic calendar be subject to periodic review by the Educational Policy Committee. The first review shall be undertaken three years after the implementation of the revised calendar, with further reviews at 5 year intervals.”

The table below is based on AY 2016-17. All the schools belong to the AAU.

The “between-semester gap” is number of days between the last day of fall finals and first class day in the spring.

The table below is based on AY 2016-17. All the schools belong to the AAU.

We use this notation:

• F-Breaks: length  of breaks in the fall semester excluding Thanksgiving. L-2-1  means Labor Day followed by a 2-day break followed by a 1-day break
• T-Break: length of Thanksgiving break
• T-After: number of class days after Thanksgiving
• S-Breaks: length of breaks in spring semester. M-5 means MLK day followed by a 5-day break.

Holiday Definitions

• Labor Day: First Monday in September (Sept 1 – Sept 7)
• Columbus Day: Second Monday in October (Oct 8 – Oct 13)
• Thanksgiving: Fourth Thursday in November (Nov 22 – Nov 27)
• Martin Luther King Day: Third Monday in January (Jan 15 – Jan 20)
• Presidents Day: Third Monday in February (Feb – Feb)
• Memorial Day: Last Monday in May (May – May 31)

Balance and Compliance

• B1. The Fall and Spring semesters have 68 and 69 days of instruction respectively.
• B2. Both semesters qualify as 15-week semesters with the NYS Education Department.

Fall Semester

Holiday Definitions

• Labor Day: First Monday in September  (Sept 1 – Sept 7)
• Columbus Day: Second Monday in October  (Oct 8 –  Oct 13)
• Thanksgiving: Fourth Thursday in November  (Nov 22 – Nov 27)

Properties

• F1. Classes start on the 13th Tuesday before Thanksgiving. (Aug 23 – Aug 29)
• F2. Classes are not held on Labor Day.
• F3. Classes are not held on Columbus Day and the day after.
• F4. Classes are not held during the Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of Thanksgiving week.
• F5. Classes end on the Friday of the following week.
• F6. Study days (starred) and final exam days begin the next day
  • The first Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday are Study Days
  • The following Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday are Exam Days
  • The second Sunday is a Study Day
  • The following Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are Exam Days

Distribution of Breaks and Study Days

Since there are seven possible Thanksgivings (Nov 22,23,24,25,26,27,28) there are seven possible fall semesters. Here they are:

In all cases there are 68 days of instruction distributed as follows:

• 12 Mondays
• 14 Tuesdays
• 14 Wednesdays
• 14 Thursdays
• 14 Fridays

Considering only weekdays, here is the distribution of break days and class days between the first and last class days

• When classes start August 26, or 27:
  • 4 Class Days, 1 Break Day, 29 Class Days, 2 Break Days, 30 Class Days, 3 Break Days, 5 Class Days
• When classes start August 21, 22, 23, 24, 25
  • 9 Class Days, 1 Break Day, 24 Class Days, 2 Break Days, 30 Class Days, 3 Break Days, 5 Class Days

Spring Semester

 Holiday Definitions

• Martin Luther King Day: Third Monday in January (Jan 15 – Jan 21)
• Presidents Day: Third Monday in February (Feb 15 – Feb 21)
• Memorial Day: Last Monday in May (May 25 – May 31)

Properties

• S1. Classes start on a Wednesday after Martin Luther King Day.
• S2. Classes are not held on Presidents Day and the day after.
• S3. Classes are not held during  the week that includes the  last Monday in March.
• S4. Classes end on the fifth Wednesday after spring break.
• S5. Study days (red) and final exam days (blue) begin the next day:
  • The first Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are Study Days
  • The following Monday Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are Exam Days
  • The second Friday is a Study Day
  • The following Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday are Exam Days
• S6. Commencement is on the Sunday before Memorial Day.

Distribution of Breaks and Study Days (Non-Leap Years)

There are seven possible Presidents Days: Feb 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21

These are paired with the following Memorial Days: May 31, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30

With these anchor points (Commencement Day equals Memorial Day minus one) there are seven possible spring semesters:

In all cases there are 69 days of instruction distributed as follows:

• 13 Mondays
• 13 Tuesdays
• 15 Wednesdays
• 14 Thursdays
• 14 Fridays

Considering only weekdays, here is the distribution of break days and class days between the first and last class days

• When classes start January 27
  • 13 Class Days, 2 Break Days, 28 Class Days, 5 Break Days, 28 Class Days
• When classes start January 21-26
  • 18 Class days, 2 Break Days, 28 Class Days, 5 Break Days, 25 Class Days

Distribution of Breaks and Study Days (Leap Years)

There are seven possible Presidents Days: Feb 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21

These are paired with the following Memorial Days: May 30, 31, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29

With these anchor points (Commencement Day equals Memorial Day minus one) there are seven possible spring semesters:

In all cases there are 69 days of instruction distributed as follows:

• 13 Mondays
• 13 Tuesdays
• 15 Wednesdays
• 14 Thursdays
• 14 Fridays

Considering only weekdays, here is the distribution of break days and class days between the first and last class days

• When classes start January 27, 28
  • 13 Class Days, 2 Break Days, 28 Class Days, 5 Break Days, 28 Class Days
• When classes start January 22-26
  • 18 Class Days, 2 Break Days, 28 Class Days, 5 Break Days, 25 Class Days

On Campus

Committee Members from the Student Assembly (SA), the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly (GPSA), and the Employee Assembly (EA) are responsible for the back and forth communication between the Committee and their respective constituencies. Calendar-Issue presentations have been made to the SA (Sept 29), the GPSA (Nov 7), and the EA (Nov 2).

The Committee also has representatives from Gannett Health Services, the Commencement office, the Dean of Students Office, and the Office of the Registrar.

During November and December, all members of the community were invited to post comments on specific calendar issues.

To make sure that other viewpoints feed into the process we have distributed the following “outreach email” to various campus units:

Recipients:

• Center for Intercultural Dialog
• International Student and Scholars Office
• Continuing Education
• Career Services
• The Judicial Administrator
• Cornell Police
• Environmental Health and Safety
• Cornell United Religious Work
• New Student Programs
• Physical Education
• Athletics
• Infrastructure, Properties, and Planning
• Fraternities and Sororities

The outreach email has also been sent to every Director of Undergraduate Studies (via the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education) and every Director of Graduate Studies (via the  graduate School.)

Off Campus

The positioning of breaks and Commencement weekend has impact beyond the campus. The Committee is in contact with these off-campus entities.

Local Colleges

• Ithaca College
• Wells College
• SUNY Cortland
• Syracuse University
• Elmira College
• SUNY Binghamton
• Hobart and William Smith

Local School Districts

• Ithaca
• Trumansburg
• Dryden
• Lansing
• Newfield