Academic Calendar Shift Offers New Implications

The sign at the corner of Hannah Street and Erie Street welcomes returning students. When students returned for this semester, it was a week later than initially anticipated (Photo by Taylor Dietz).

Albion College’s spring semester was scheduled to start on Jan.18. Due to concerns pertaining to the omicron variant, the start of the spring semester for Albion College was postponed from Jan. 18 to Jan. 24. 

Students, faculty and staff were informed of the change via a campus-wide email from Interim President Joe Calvaruso.  

“At this time, the College has decided to move the first day of Spring 2022 classes to Mon., Jan. 24,” said Calvaruso, via email. “This is a change from Tues., Jan. 18. Move-in will now take place on the weekend of Jan. 22 and 23 instead of Jan. 16 and 17. Classes will be extended into the first week of May. The dates of spring break will not change.”

A number of adjustments to the spring semester schedule were considered, such as holding courses virtual for a few weeks. 

“We discussed a number of different changes to the schedule. The one we arrived at was the schedule that offered the best options with the least amount of disruption,” said Andrew Dunham, associate dean of academic affairs and registrar, via electronic communication.

Many people were involved in making the decision to postpone the start of the spring semester. 

“The President and the entire president’s cabinet initiated discussion about the change.  They then included myself and the director of financial aid and a few others in the discussion,” said Dunham, via electronic communication.

Staff and faculty were also given the opportunity to contribute to the decision-making process via a survey.

Due to the postponement of the spring semester’s start date, exam week will now continue through the first week of May. Final exams will be held until commencement on May 7. 

“Since we did not want to change the length of the semester or change the date for graduation, we had to push final exams back as close to graduation as possible, in order to capture as many class days as possible. This means that finals will run right up until the day of graduation. Graduation will not change,” said Dunham, via electronic communication. 

Dunham believes the decision to move the semester back was a good choice for those in the Albion College community. 

“This change was made so that the Albion College community could have the safest Spring semester possible, not lengthen the semester, and have graduation on the same day and time that was originally planned,” said Dunham.

Correction: The original publication of this article incorrectly identified Dunham’s position. We apologize for any confusion. 

About Morgan DeRose 42 Articles
Morgan DeRose is a senior from Whitehall, Michigan. While studying at Albion College, Morgan is pursuing a Communication major, Psychology major, and a concentration in the Ford Institute for Leadership in Public Policy and Service. Morgan also plays on the Albion College Women’s tennis team and is an FYE mentor. In her free time, she enjoys hiking and going to the beach.

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