Has anyone noticed among other university students in Montana that Tech students start the semester earlier and end later than most? The typical semester at the U of M and MSU lasts 75 days; at Tech, the average semester is 80 days. The reason for this goes all the way back to 1994 when we joined the Montana University system.
At that time, Montana Tech’s fall semester included two weeks in January, after the Christmas break. Due to our merger, the Board of Regents mandated that the fall semester should end before Christmas. This made the fall semester 10 days shorter than spring and caused some trouble for faculty who were trying to squeeze all the material they needed to cover into less time. So, in an effort to equalize semesters, more days were added to the fall semester. This also created a conflict with certain holidays and required days off often falling on Monday. The goal being to equalize semesters and create an equal number of week days within those semesters, we ended up with the schedule we have now, consisting of 80 day semesters.
At that time, Montana Tech’s fall semester included two weeks in January, after the Christmas break. Due to our merger, the Board of Regents mandated that the fall semester should end before Christmas. This made the fall semester 10 days shorter than spring and caused some trouble for faculty who were trying to squeeze all the material they needed to cover into less time. So, in an effort to equalize semesters, more days were added to the fall semester. This also created a conflict with certain holidays and required days off often falling on Monday. The goal being to equalize semesters and create an equal number of week days within those semesters, we ended up with the schedule we have now, consisting of 80 day semesters.
Although this is not the usual practice in Montana, many of our peer schools also schedule this way; the list includes Missouri Rolla, North Dakota School of Mines and New Mexico Tech. The idea behind this is that technical and engineering schools need to provide a more complete education for the disciplines they offer. In order to stay competitive as an engineering school and provide students with the best value in their education, the extra days of instruction can be useful. If students aren’t grasping a subject, instructors have more leeway to focus on the material the students are struggling with. It also can allow for more time to focus on the subjects that interest students most and increase time students have with their instructors.
The other side is that the longer semesters require more time and work for the classes that other students are taking at nearby universities and gaining the same credits. Christmas break and summer vacations have both been shortened in order to provide more instructional days. Some believe the extra time during Christmas break would be useful for research projects associated with Montana Tech. Students argue that the shortened summers decrease the student’s ability to earn money during their internships and decrease time spent gaining job experience.
Ultimately, we are getting more of a value for our tuition and more instructional time than other students in Montana, and at the same time staying competitive with peer universities. However, we are spending more time in the classroom than we were before. What do you think? Have you ever thought your time could be better spent? Or did you gain more in your education? Or did you even notice the additional 5 days? Ultimately, the decision is up to the chancellor who decides on the schedule recommendation from the Deans Council. If you do have a strong opinion, address the dean of your particular discipline.
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