Two weeks ago, history was made for SUU when, on the last day of the legislative session, SUU received 3.8 million dollars to start a state legislation project.
The project includes creating a “robust” summer class schedule that will allow students to finish a bachelor’s degree in three years instead of the standard four years.
By robust, President Wyatt means more classes will be offered in the summer months to help students pursue their bachelors degrees at a faster pace.
Since SUU only received the funding two weeks ago, there are still major decisions to be made. Wyatt wanted to be as transparent as possible with the student body, so a forum was held on April 1. The forum allowed the president to present the project and answer any questions.
Although nothing is set in stone, President Wyatt explained his proposal for how he wants to change the calendar to benefit the students as much as possible.
Instead of having Fall, Spring, Maymester and Summer blocks 1 and 2, SUU would provide three, shorter semesters for Fall, Winter and Spring.
Fall semester would begin the Monday after Labor Day and end the second week in December. Then after a three week Christmas break, Winter semester would begin the Monday following the New Year and end April 12th. Students would then have two weeks off and Spring semester would begin the last Monday in April and end July 22 or 23. After which, students would have a six week summer break before starting Fall semester.
Each semester would be 12 weeks instead of the current 15 weeks. Because there would be a decrease in the number of class periods, each class would be extended by 10 minutes to make up for the lost time. The final change would be 15-minute breaks between each class period for students to talk to their professors and walk across campus for their next class.
The three-year degree initiative, if accepted, would not begin until January 2020 so nothing will change for the upcoming fall semester.
Although the proposed calendar may look very similar to BYU Idaho’s schedule, SUU students have the freedom to continue attending only Fall and Winter semesters. It is up to the individual if they want to attend Spring semester.
President Wyatt wanted to reiterate that the point of this change is to allow students to enter the professional workforce faster and no student is required to go to school during the Spring semester.
“Students will not be required to go to school in the summer. It will always be optional,” said President Wyatt.
Both scholarships and Pell grants will apply to Fall, Winter and Spring. It is up the student to decide which semesters they want to attend SUU and use their scholarships.
President Wyatt hopes to have a finalized calendar by the end of this semester.
If you have any questions or concerns about the new three-year degree track or the proposed schedule changes, the administration has set up an email, 3yeardegree@suu.edu, to receive and answer them.
Story by: Cassidy Harmon
eic@suunews.net
Photo Credit: Christopher Dimond
