2008 Woodie Awards
Winter break dates change, moved earlier
Laura Avila
Issue date: 12/4/07 Section: Other News
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This year, winter break will begin one week earlier than in previous years. Classes end Dec. 3, and final exams will take place Dec. 5-11. Complaints from faculty and staff about needing extra time to finish working on students' grades prompted the change, said UST Registrar Rose Sklar.
"We felt that it is important to release grades to students before everyone leaves for the Christmas break," Sklar said. "Because the processing of grades is complicated and lengthy, we started classes early enough to ensure that there was plenty of time for grades to be processed and posted before everyone went home for the holidays."
Senior MBA graduate student Yanin Duran said that she hopes the extra time will allow her to relax before the Christmas holiday. "I think [the extra week] is better because it gives students more time to prepare for the holidays," she said. "Classes used to drag on too long into December, and I had to rush to prepare for the holidays."
Senior history major Raquel Vasquez agreed. "It's nice to get out earlier because it gives us time between finals and shopping for Christmas," she said.
The earlier break will also mean faculty and staff get to spend time with family without having to worry about finalizing grades close to the Christmas holiday, Sklar said. "Without that extra time, the staff was working up to and including Christmas Eve to get the task completed," she said. "Starting earlier allows time to get those grades out to our students before the break, while allowing staff to be home with their families on Christmas Eve."
Spring semester will begin one week earlier than usual on Jan. 14.
"We felt that it is important to release grades to students before everyone leaves for the Christmas break," Sklar said. "Because the processing of grades is complicated and lengthy, we started classes early enough to ensure that there was plenty of time for grades to be processed and posted before everyone went home for the holidays."
Senior MBA graduate student Yanin Duran said that she hopes the extra time will allow her to relax before the Christmas holiday. "I think [the extra week] is better because it gives students more time to prepare for the holidays," she said. "Classes used to drag on too long into December, and I had to rush to prepare for the holidays."
Senior history major Raquel Vasquez agreed. "It's nice to get out earlier because it gives us time between finals and shopping for Christmas," she said.
The earlier break will also mean faculty and staff get to spend time with family without having to worry about finalizing grades close to the Christmas holiday, Sklar said. "Without that extra time, the staff was working up to and including Christmas Eve to get the task completed," she said. "Starting earlier allows time to get those grades out to our students before the break, while allowing staff to be home with their families on Christmas Eve."
Spring semester will begin one week earlier than usual on Jan. 14.