ACADEMIC CALENDAR

The College Administration will establish a procedure for review, feedback and development of the academic calendar. The calendar will be approved two years in advance so that there is always a two-year calendar in effect. The Board of Trustees will review and approve the College’s official academic calendar annually.

Adopted: January 10, 1979
Adopted: January 24, 1980
Adopted: June 26, 1986
Revised: May 28, 1998
Revised: October 8, 2015
Reformatted: March 17, 2017

Procedure 6210A

ACADEMIC CALENDAR

• A standing College committee will develop a calendar proposal to be delivered to the President by the last working day of September.
• The committee will consist of six members: two faculty members to be appointed by the College Senate, the Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs or designee, the College Registrar or designee, a Student Affairs representative, and the Director of Financial Aid or designee.
• Prior to submitting the calendar proposal to the President, drafts will be delivered to Academic Council, Student Affairs Senior Staff, Senate, the Paraprofessional Alliance and the Western Leadership Council. All parties will have one week to provide feedback. The committee will make changes it deems appropriate.

The academic calendar will adhere to the following guidelines:

DURATION
The academic calendar shall extend two years into the future.

ACADEMIC YEAR
The academic year will be divided into two fifteen-week semesters (16 to 17 weeks including breaks and holidays) and one seven-week Summer Semester (8 weeks including breaks and holidays).

FALL AND SPRING SEMESTERS

• Fall and Spring semesters will consist of a fifteen-week instructional/exam block, a twelve-week block, two seven-week blocks, and three five-week blocks.
• Fall and Spring semesters will each contain 75 instructional/exam days.
• The calendar will have 15 Mondays, 15 Tuesdays, 15 Wednesdays, 15 Thursdays, and 15 Fridays with any deviations approved by the President or his/her designee.
• Fall and Spring semesters will contain five days at the end of the semester that can be used as instructional days or Exam Days.
• There may, or may not, be an exam-prep day, based upon the needs of the Scheduling Committee to balance the days of the week.

Commencement
Commencement is held on the Friday following the end of the Spring semester.

Summer Semester
Summer term will begin the first full week of June and will run for seven weeks (eight weeks including breaks and holidays), consisting of:

• one seven-week block and
• one five-week block
• The Summer Semester will consist of 28 instructional/exam days, the calendar will have seven Mondays, seven Tuesdays, seven Wednesdays, and seven Thursdays with any deviations approved by the President or their designee.

Input from faculty and staff should precede any significant changes to the guidelines or calendar. Significant changes, as measured against the previous year’s academic calendar, would include the addition or deletion of holidays, shifts of a week or more in starting or ending dates, starting classes on a different day of the week, and changes to the number of teaching days.

Adopted: January 10, 1979
Adopted: January 24, 1980
Adopted: June 26, 1986
Revised: May 28, 1998
Reformatted: May 5, 2010
Revised: February 8, 2011
Revised: October 8, 2015
Reformatted: March 17, 2017
Revised: December 13, 2018
Reformatted: July 18, 2022