As Neumann University prepares for the upcoming spring semester, rumors abound about potential changes to the class schedule that could impact students and faculty alike.
Interim Provost, Dr. Katie Barnes, has confirmed to NeuPress that the university is moving to a revised class schedule and is set to implement longer class times to meet new accreditation regulations.
Under the new schedule, classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday will be held for one hour, while those on Tuesday and Thursday will extend to one and a half hours.
“This change is being made to satisfy some of our outside accreditation’s new regulations,” Barnes stated, explaining the necessity of these modifications for program compliance.
While the current schedule, with a Carnegie 50-minute class hour, has only been implemented for a year and a half now, the school will be changing back to the standard clock hour method, which was implemented prior.
One of the key adjustments includes the common hours, which currently run 12:00 to 12:50 p.m. on MWF and 12:15 to 1:10 p.m. TTh.
MWF common hours will now be scheduled from 12:40 p.m. to 1:40 p.m. and TTh will run from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m., with adjustments made for Mass.
Dr. Barnes believes this common hour aims to enhance student engagement and provide more opportunities for face-to-face interaction with faculty.
“Adding 10 to 15 minutes back into the class period will help students feel they have more access to faculty,” said Barnes.
Before coming to a decision, Barnes spoke to about 20 students across all four years and graduate students.
After the last change to the 50-minute block schedule Barnes told NeuPress that the shorter schedule aligned well with Neumann’s RISES values, promoting opportunities for students to “pause and reflect.” Now, she insists the new schedule will continue to uphold those values.
“This does not change our RISES values at all. We will still be able to pause daily and reflect as well as carry on our Franciscan legacy,” said Barnes.
However, not everyone in the administration shares the same perspective regarding the alignment of the schedule changes with Neumann’s core values.
Faculty Senate President, Dr. Geoffrey Karabin commented, “I’m not sure the change itself is most relevant to RISES. How one teaches and interacts with his/her students is most relevant to RISES.”
According to recent studies, the average attention span has been steadily decreasing over the past few years, making it more challenging for students to stay engaged in extended learning sessions.
“After being in shorter classes for so long, it might be an adjustment for people to stay awake and alert during longer classes,” said junior preoccupation therapy major, Gabby Dushkewich.
“I also think it’ll be hard to adjust to the different times especially considering that they’re like at times like 9:10 a.m. or 9:40 a.m. It’s just weird times of day.” Dushkewich said.
Faculty members, too, have mixed feelings about the changes.
“I don’t think that there has been any single response to the change. As with any change, I think some are happier about it and some are less happy,” said Karabin.
“It extends the day and thereby creates some logistical challenges, yet it also allows for additional time to cover course content and for student-professor interaction. Personally, I am looking forward to a bit of extended time for discussions.” Karabin said.
The clock is ticking, and as the leaves begin to fall around campus, all members of the Neumann community cannot help but question what is to come when the leaves are in bloom next year. Will these changes in the spring ultimately serve their best interest, or will they add another layer of stress to an already demanding academic environment?
There is some optimism expressed by students like Thomas Boland, a junior health education major, who believes that the extended class times might enhance learning.
“My major can be quite stressful and demanding, especially since there is a lot of knowledge that needs to be obtained… This will benefit me because I will get to do what I love in more depth.” Boland said.
