Monday, Wednesday, Friday Classes Increase

By Broadside Correspondent Amanda Cheek

Students closely watching the class selection on PatriotWeb while scheduling their fall semester may have noticed an increase in Monday, Wednesday and Friday classes.

Over the past three years, 100- and 200-level Monday, Wednesday, Friday classes have been steadily increasing, due to a decision made in September 2006 by the Classroom Advisory Committee (CAC).

The plan was first put into action within the College of Humanities and Social Sciences in Fall 2007 and expanded to other schools in Fall 2008. The committee responsible for the decision is chaired by University Registrar Susan Jones and Director of Campus Planning Cathy Wolfe.

According to Jones, there were 119 classes scheduled for Monday, Wednesday and Friday and 337 classes for Tuesday and Thursday in Fall 2006. In Fall 2008, a total of 333 classes were scheduled for Monday, Wednesday, Friday and 301 classes for Tuesday and Thursday.

“These numbers are not from official university reporting, but results from unofficial decision reporting,” said Jones. “Even with that caveat, they show the trend.”

Jones said the decision was largely based on trying to increase the use of classroom space and to make more courses available for freshman and sophomore students.

“When you fill every classroom during prime hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays, you have no way to solve a classroom problem, such as dealing with a class that became too large for its assigned space. Even a slight reduction in total sections can give much needed flexibility in assuring that each class is in the best room possible,” said Jones.

“I don’t think it’s going to do anything. People are still going to fill up classes, and the number of students versus teachers isn’t going to change,” said sophomore accounting major Mandeep Kaur, who was not aware of the Monday, Wednesday, Friday increase.

Provost Peter Stearns, co-chair of the Space Administration Committee, also supported this decision. Stearns said he had three reasons: better space utilization, increasing residential student population—which requires more students being active during weekends—and the fact that certain kinds of classes succeed better in a Monday, Wednesday, Friday format.

“I don’t think classroom space is the only reason. I think it’s because no one is here on Mondays and Fridays. It’s like a ghost town. And it is terrible on Tuesdays and Thursdays with traffic and stuff. I know because I commuted the first half of this fall semester, and now I live on campus,” said freshman Thomas Gravely.

Jones also mentioned that Stearns had concern for students of religious backgrounds that might not be able to attend classes on Fridays.

"He nevertheless expressed strong support for the plan, with the understanding that there is no goal to schedule all 100- or 200-level classes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays,” said Jones.

Jones said the Registrar’s Office has instructed departmental Scheduling Coordinators to assure a majority of 100 and 200 level classes be Monday, Wednesday, Friday for Fall 2009, additionally saying it would not be surprising to see another increase in these sections on PatriotWeb.