After a winter that saw the most snowfall in recent years, Temple announced a plan last week outlining option plans for students and professors to make up class time missed due to the weather.
The Office of the Provost sent out an email after many inquiries from the dean’s office and faculty about whether the semester schedule would change due to weather. This semester, Temple has had two closed days, two delayed openings and two early closings since mid-January.
One of the two options for professors is to schedule makeup class meetings on weekdays starting in mid-March. For Monday-Wednesday-Friday classes, makeups can be scheduled on Wednesdays. For Tuesday-Thursday classes, makeups can be scheduled on Thursdays. To accommodate class space, most makeups are designated after 5 p.m.
Professors also have the option of using the Blackboard system to post online lectures and classes.
Classes can also be offered during the Tuesday and Wednesday of study week if teachers need the extra time. The final exam period cannot be used to make up missed classes.
Despite this schedule, faculty is encouraged to work with students, give advanced notice and be flexible to allow for students, such as commuters and those who work, to be able to make up their missed days.
“Certainly, we hope that faculty will work with any students that have any scheduling conflict,” said Jodi Levine Laufgraben, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, Assessment and Institutional Research.
This plan will not change the semester schedule, commencement or finals and other planned activities for the semester will occur on time. Makeup classes cannot be scheduled on weekends, nor has the schedule been extended to accommodate the bad weather.
Despite the attempts of Temple to accommodate students and classwork, some students have voiced their displeasure with the plan.
“I think it’s a waste of time,” said sophomore kinesiology major Talia Deen. “You can’t control the weather.”
Sophomore linguistics major Rebecca Yelton, had a different attitude toward the announcement.
“It would be annoying, but I think it’s better because we’ve already paid for the days and the classes,” Yelton said.
Both students did say they agreed with the idea of online classes and lectures to help students who have to commute and can’t make it to study sessions.
All matters aside, Laufgraben said she is confident the semester will end in a timely manner and without much problem due to the weather.
“It’s been a stressful winter for everyone and working together, faculty and students will make sure that students get the time to learn the material that they need to,” Laufgraben said. “Working together, we’ll get to a successful end to the spring semester.”
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