Should Cornell’s academic calendar remain as is or be changed? Are breaks and study days optimally positioned to bring out the best in the students? Should the spring semester start earlier in order to create more summertime employment and academic opportunities for students? Should Commencement Weekend be moved?

The Academic Calendar Committee, co-chaired by Charles Van Loan, dean of the university faculty, and Rebecca Stoltzfus, vice provost for undergraduate education, held its first meeting Oct. 24 to grapple with these issues. The committee is actively seeking input from students, faculty, staff and the assemblies; it also intends to reach out to local school districts to gain an understanding of their calendars.

Comments can be submitted at the Academic Calendar Committee website. The site breaks out commenting into 12 areas, such as final exam scheduling; positioning and value of breaks; and importance of synchronizing Cornell breaks with local school district breaks. All comments are visible but are posted without names or email addresses.

“We are casting our net widely because the academic calendar touches each member of the Cornell community, and any change has an impact and can have unintentional consequences,” said Van Loan. “We all think differently about spring break, about having Commencement on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, about the start and end dates of each semester.

“We are hoping that the feedback we receive – which we will share in summary form with the Cornell community – will provide ‘teachable moments’ for each of us, helping us all to appreciate others’ perspectives as we move forward.”

In 2013 the academic calendar was revised to address concerns about student stress and mental health related to having long periods of instruction unpunctuated by multiday breaks; enhance educational opportunities; and comply with New York State Education Department requirements. In addition, the faculty Senate passed a resolution requiring the academic calendar be subject to periodic review, the first to be taken three years after the revised calendar was implemented.

The committee plans to gather input this semester and present a recommended calendar to the faculty Senate by April 2017. Following approval by the Senate, the recommended calendar goes to the provost, who decides if any changes are implemented. A new calendar is not likely to take effect before the 2018-19 school year.

Committee members include faculty; representatives from all the assemblies; and staff from the Dean of Students Office, student services, Gannett Health Services, University Registrar, Office of Institutional Planning and Research, and the Commencement Office.