Proposed January Term Gets Mixed Reactions

The Undergraduate Council heard a proposal to increase the size of blocking groups from eight to 12 and hashed out potential changes to the College’s academic calendar in a two-hour meeting last night.

The council took no vote on the blocking group proposition, but plan co-drafter Sheila R. Adams ’05 said that Associate Dean of the College Thomas A. Dingman ’67 would bring up the proposal at a meeting of the House Masters next Monday.

In a Sever Hall classroom so frigid that council members could see their own breath, about 30 non-council members joined the student representatives to discuss recent proposals to move exams before winter break and create a month-long term in January.

Most of the students said they supported the proposal, and a suggestion that the College should extend Thanksgiving break met approval from the crowd.

But the idea of a January term, or “J-term,” met mixed reaction.

Some worried that the addition of a J-term would mean a longer school year and would make life difficult for students seeking substantial summer internships.

But Professor of American Studies Lizabeth Cohen, co-chair of the Curricular Review Pedagogy Committee—one of two committees currently considering the calendar reform—told the Faculty at its December meeting that the new calendar would leave the spring term start date unchanged and might actually allow the academic year to come to an earlier close.

Other students lauded the proposal yesterday, pointing out that a low-key J-term in which students take the equivalent of one class could mean a greater variety of visiting professors and more time for students to spend with friends.

Jennifer A. Stolper ’05 and Tom J. Wright ’06, who serve on a University-wide committee on calendar review, said that they would bring students’ opinions back to the group.

Stolper and Wright told the council that the only way to make winter break longer would be to move exams to before the vacation.

Wright said moving up fall semester exams would make it possible to change the start-date of the fall term and the length of reading period and final exams.

Wright pointed out that the University’s various schools don’t have exams at the same time, a fact which creates difficulties for undergraduates who want to take courses offered by other Harvard faculties.

“Exam placement is an irregularity in the calendar,” Wright said.

More than 150 students have filled out response forms on the council’s web page to give their opinions on the calendar change, Wright said.

Outgoing Council President Rohit C. Chopra ’04 said that the council is considering taking a more formal survey of the undergraduate population.

A Crimson poll of 363 undergraduates last month revealed that students are split on the issue, with 45 percent favoring the pre-break exam schedule and 40 percent saying that exams should not be moved.

Stolper added that while she and Wright would probably not be allowed to vote on the official calendar changes, she thought their input into the committee would nevertheless be influential.

According to Stolper and Wright, changes to the academic calendar could be implemented as earlier as the 2005-2006 school year.

Growing the Group

During her brief presentation, Adams called for a review of blocking group sizes and posited 12 as a more ideal number.

She said that after the College administration cut the size of blocking groups from 16 to 8 in 1999, the number of students who transfer Houses increased.

She also said that with an increasing number of students taking a semester abroad, having a larger and more flexible blocking group might make rooming easier for students.

Adams said that depending on the outcome of the House Master meeting next week, blocking procedures could be changed as early as next year.

The council also approved a grant package for various student groups and heard a presentation by incoming council president Matt W. Mahan ’05 on creating an informal concentration advising night in the spring during which first-years could seek advice from upperclass students and House tutors.

—Staff writer Bari M. Schwartz can be reached at bschwart@fas.harvard.edu.