Ashland University students may want to buckle their seatbelts and prepare for the ride, because change is once again coming to AU, this time in the form of a new 2010-2011 academic calendar.

As many students may know, the Ohio Board or Regents is mandating that all state schools be on semesters by fall of 2012. This change prompted the wheels to start turning and ultimately caused a ripple effect.

“We had to look at our courses and in some cases we were short,” Provost Dr. Frank Pettigrew said.

Some courses came up short because classes used to be determined by hours, so 50 minutes counted as an hour and the time requirement was filled. However, classes will now be determined by minutes and so there is no room for the ten minute leeway we had before. Because of this, some classes and time slots had to be moved around to accommodate the new requirements set up by the board of regents.

All current class blocks will remain the same in the fall semester of 2011. Monday, Wednesday and Friday classes will still be 50 minutes, Tuesday, Thursday classes will be 75 minutes and night classes will be two hours and 45 minutes.

However, instead of starting school on a Monday and having freshmen move in on Saturday as in previous years, classes will start on Wednesday, with the freshmen moving in on Monday.

Students may be happy to hear that this coming fall AU is getting Labor Day off as well as a fall break day Oct. 21.

The newest change that most likely will have students whining is that there will be a Reading Day Dec. 8, which is a Thursday. That is a day with no classes, so that a student may have time to relax and study for finals. However, students will still be expected to go to their final classes Friday and exams will start that Saturday.

The Saturday exam slots are predicted to be Tuesday, Thursday classes. Exams will continue the following Monday through Wednesday. While students would have to remain on campus the Saturday before finals week anyway, most are predicted to not enjoy the idea of going to an exam on a Saturday.

“I know that Saturday finals will not be very popular at this present time,” Daniel Mitchell, executive officer of academic affairs for student senate said in an email, “but Dr. Pettigrew and Sue Heimann explained that it is not unusual for colleges to have finals on Saturday.”

While students may be upset about the prospect of a Saturday final, others are upset with the idea of having a “free day” Thursday, then returning to class on Friday.

“The thing most students don’t understand is the reading day on Thursday and then having to go to class on Friday,” Mitchell said in an interview.

While some students don’t like to believe it, there is a true and intelligent reason for it.

“We needed the minimum amount for Monday, Wednesday and Friday classes,” Pettigrew said, referring to the minute requirements that AU must now meet. “We had enough Tuesday, Thursday [minutes] that we could cut one [that Thursday]. We didn’t have any leeway for that Friday.”

Besides the minute requirements, there were other reasons to change the academic calendar.

The NCAA mandates only having a certain amount of practice days leading up to a sport’s first event. If a team meets their practice days too early in the season, they must take a break from practice until their first event, which can cause problems for any athletic team.

“There is a limit there,” Pettigrew said. “If classes are earlier, they lose practice days. The issue was giving athletics time off before a game. We pushed the start [of school] back so they aren’t here so early in August.”

This way, no team risks having to cancel practice before their first event.

Not only do the Ohio Board of Regents and NCAA get their rules met with this calendar change, but Facilities Management and Planning, as well as faculty, will also benefit.

“From the Facilities’ point of view, between summer school and fall they like to get into the dorm rooms and freshen up so this gives them a few more days,” Pettigrew said.

Faculty often have to rush to get seniors’ grades in but with the new schedule, they will be given a little more time to complete this task.

One thing that some faculty may not like is the requirement that all classes meet on exam day. Some professors accept final projects through email or have students turn in papers and then leave; in order to fill all minute requirements, however, the final exam must fill the full class period.

“They have got to plan something for that day,” Pettigrew said.

While everyone is being affected by the academic calendar change, many people think that this is for the best.

“I think it’s a good schedule,” Mitchell said. “It will work out fine. We start later, get Labor Day off – it will be a nice break in the semester.”

Pettigrew shares Mitchell’s enthusiasm.

“I’m excited about the schedule,” Pettigrew said. “Ashland University is an academic institution, we are going beyond the minimum and providing students with the time and ability to learn so they don’t feel short changed.

“We put Labor Day back in because it’s a family holiday and the staff wanted it. I feel good about it. We’re still able to keep the spring schedule so students get to graduate the first week of May and it gives students a head start.

“I am pleased that the academic affairs side is able to be highlighted in this schedule.”

The academic calendar for the next two years is being finalized.

Pettigrew hopes to have a three-year calendar available on AU’s website for prospective students.

It seems that AU has reinvented itself so that students can easily and eagerly look into the future.