Seton Hall will be making some changes to next year’s academic calendar, and some students are concerned about how this will impact their academic performance. The 2015-2016 Academic school year will begin on Aug. 31. Compared to last fall, this puts the start of the semester off by a whole week. The last day of exams for the fall 2015 semester will be on Dec. 22, and the spring 2016 semester will begin on Jan. 11. In addition, spring break will be from Feb. 29 to March 5. The spring semester will end on May 11. According to Joan Guetti, Senior Associate Provost, the academic calendar is determined by several factors, the most important being accreditation and holidays. Guetti said the school is required by its accrediting body to schedule a certain number of contact minutes per credit. Seton Hall University’s accreditation is determined by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. According to the organization’s website, the Middle States Commission is recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education, and examines institutions in the Mid-Atlantic region. Guetti added that the school factors in holidays to determine when breaks begin and end during the course of the semester. According to Guetti, the reason for the late start to the fall semester is because of how late Labor Day falls. The school prefers to start the semester the week before Labor Day, and this year, Labor Day falls on Sept. 7, which Guetti said is as late as it can possibly be. Erin Smith, a junior Education major, is concerned that she and her fellow students will not be able to recuperate during the shortened winter break. “It’s unfortunate that Labor Day falls so late this year,” Smith said. “The academic calendar is very squished and I don’t believe there is enough time to decompress after the first semester.” “It’s an overload of academia,” said Smith. Elena Vitullo can be reached at elena.vitullo@student.shu.edu.
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