Mississippi State University’s Faculty Senate met Jan. 17 to vote on the issue brought to the Senate by the Student Association for fall break and a calendar change to be introduced into MSU’s calendar for fall 2003.
The Faculty Senate unanimously approved changes to the exam schedule, which will change from having the first exam on Friday to the following Monday, with reading days over the weekend. The Faculty Senate did not approve fall break, with a vote of 12 in favor, 17 against and one abstention.
The concerns from the Faculty Senate were the loss of 100 contact minutes as well as the possibility of poorer exam performance from the students. Fall break was initially suggested to be the week of Thanksgiving, but members of the Faculty Senate felt that having a week off school so close to exams would hinder exam performance.
“I did not participate in the discussion, except to describe the report submitted to the Senate,” Dr. Walter Diehl, Faculty Senate chairman, said.
If fall break were put into effect, it would be done on a trial basis whether to implement it in the future, Diehl said.
“If the decision was made, it would be a one-year trial,” Diehl said.
The provost and the president will likely reach a decision in the next month, SA President Parker Wiseman said.
“Having a fall break before exams makes no sense,” Diehl said.
“Having a long weekend in October for fall break would have devastating effects on laboratories since this is a land-grant school. There would be one less lab in the fall than in the spring because of scheduling,” Diehl continued.
The Student Association voted unanimously to recommend a fall break.
“At this point, it’s going to have to be an administrative decision,” Wiseman said. Although Wiseman is a member of the Faculty Senate, he has no voting privileges.
Fall break will be a topic at the Executive Council meeting in February.
“The exam schedule is set-it will not be affected,” Wiseman said.
Mississippi State University will be the only major university in the state without a fall break if the university does not approve a fall break for 2003-2004.
According to the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning, an institution is required to meet a minimum of 2,450 minutes per three semester hours, which may include final exam time. The Tentative 2003 Fall Contact Minute Summary indicates that MSU will have 2,525 minutes, including exam time. Each university has up to a three-day grace period for variations depending on the year’s holiday schedule and “non-class days” during the semester.