Shapiro says academic calendar report delayed is 'still being compiled' because of holiday break
A report outlining the impact and potential effects of the proposed academic calendar changes was pushed back from its original release date in order to give faculty a break for the holiday, Provost Gary Shapiro said.
Following a vote in the Academic Senate last month, the provost was charged with creating a report giving the costs and benefits of the proposed academic calendar changes so senators would have more information to move forward with.
Shapiro said although all of the information has been collected, it is still being compiled into a comprehensive report.
"All of the reports have been turned into (Director of Faculty and Personnel Services) Matt Serra. He is aggregating them and summarizing and categorizing them," he said. "The reason for the delay, as explained at the Academic Senate meeting, is since the Senate would not be meeting until January, I did not find it necessary to have (the team categorizing the results) work over the Thanksgiving holiday."
Letters were sent to 26 individuals on campus who were identified as someone who may be affected by the calendar changes, including areas such as the marching band and athletics, Shapiro said.
Shapiro said the letters asked for information in three areas: possible impact of the changes, how to resolve potential issues, and the possible consequences, both positive and negative.
"(The letters) basically say, 'you have information relating to some important concern. Tell me about it,'" he said.
Shapiro said he is not sure how many letters were returned with information, as the Office of Personnel and Faculty Services has entirely taken charge of the report.
"It was sent to (Serra) because this is a contractual issue between the Faculty Association and the university," Shapiro said. "... Since his office talks with the union, his office was chosen."
Shapiro said he does not control the A-Senate agenda, but it is his understanding that the report will be presented at the first meeting of next semester on Jan. 15. The report will be distributed before that meeting.
The SGA House and Senate both voted on Oct. 22 to officially oppose changes to the academic calendar. Shapiro said he thinks the A-Senate will take these votes into consideration when making decisions about the calendar changes.
Faculty Association President Laura Frey declined comment.
