By Allyson Hinkle, Editor in Chief
Ever since the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor has seen a shift in the fall semester’s scheduling. Instead of sticking to a “traditional schedule” in which students would go home for Thanksgiving then come back to campus for two to three weeks for finals, UMHB instead holds finals right before Thanksgiving and students will not return back to campus until the new year.
When asked about the switch, Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor John Vassar shared that the university took its students into account.
“It was primarily a result of student feedback and conversations we had with many students. What we found was that students really liked wrapping things up by Thanksgiving and being [completely] done. I know of one other school in Texas that also kept this schedule, so it is distinctive and provides a different kind of experience for our students,” Vassar explains.
As this revised schedule is only used moderately in higher education institutions around the nation, many students have raised similar concerns at their own universities. An opinion piece done in 2021 by a student from North Carolina State University comments on the differences between flipping back to the traditional schedule after using the “COVID” schedule.
“By extending winter break and ending the semester before Thanksgiving, students were actually given time to relax and recuperate … [despite] the lack of days off … and the condensed semester [making] classes feel overwhelmingly impossible. NC State needs to consider adjusting all future academic calendars to do the same thing for the benefit of the students,” staff writer Caitlyn Mahoney stated.
Former UMHB student Lauren Foley, who graduated in spring of 2022 with a Bachelor’s of Art in Graphic Design, also comments on the length of the revised schedule:
“...the "COVID" schedule felt far more condensed and fast paced, but allowed for students to avoid the end-of-semester crash that was common with the traditional schedule. The semester had a very rigid schedule of when everything would be … because of this, my anxiety was much lower … [and] I felt more burnt out by the end of the traditional schedule,” Foley explains.
In a figure made by Michael Goodman and Michelle Berlinerblau, mental burnout was categorized into a pyramid with distinct causes leading to one another. At the bottom of the pyramid, and the most common factor of mental unease, is feeling overworked and overall tired. Next is seeming to be constantly surrounded by problems and then feeling dissatisfied with the work one is producing, with the final layer being feeling a sense of withdrawal from things one loves.
With the longer break provided with the “COVID” schedule, students are given more time to recuperate from the school environment in order to prevent this stage of exhaustion. This notion is explained further by current UMHB student Alyssa Montoya, who is a junior double major in business computer information systems and multimedia information technology:
“I feel as if the longer break helps my mental burnout rather than harms it … the six weeks definitely make it feel like a "real" break rather than the two weeks others get. For me, this is a chance to see friends, work and relax without the weight of classes on my back,” Montoya states.
Slight changes have been made to this schedule as this year the concept of a fall break was introduced during the beginning of October. However when asked if the university would ever consider switching back to the traditional schedule, Dr. Vassar expressed that there was no point since the “COVID” schedule had so far proven to be superior for the students.
