The Senate Committee on Academic Procedures (SCAP) invites feedback from the Queen’s community regarding a proposal to modify Queen’s sessional dates and introduce a fall term break for students.

“A number of universities in Canada have implemented fall breaks and SCAP has been examining this possibility as part of its work looking at sessional dates,” says Jordan Morelli, Associate Professor in the Department of Physics, Engineering Physics & Astronomy, and Chair of SCAP. “The committee has already received valuable feedback from faculty, staff and students across campus and I continue to encourage any with questions or comments on the proposal to contact the committee.”

The proposal to modify Queen’s sessional dates would see a number of changes, including:

• Increasing the minimum number of instructional days in the fall term to 61 from the current 59
• Commencing classes immediately after Labour Day each year
• Moving orientation week to the week prior to Labour Day
• Including a fall term break that overlaps with Thanksgiving Day.

Under the proposal, faculties and schools would continue to set their own sessional dates in consultation with SCAP, and SCAP would continue to approval all sessional dates.

More information, including the full proposal and an online form for feedback, can be found on the University Secretariat’s website. Anyone interested is asked to submit comments or questions to the committee no later than Jan. 5, 2016.