THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT ASHEVILLE

                            FACULTY SENATE 


                                                                  
                              Senate Document Number   0196F 
                              Date of Senate Approval  9/12/96    
                              Amended   10/10/96 


 
Statement of Faculty Senate Action:

          APC Document # 1:  Change in Academic Calendar

1. Effective Date:  Fall Semester 1997

2.  Delete: All reference to future academic calendars after May
Commencement date 1996 in all appropriate publications of the
University.  E.G. see pages VII - IX of the current catalog.

3.  Add:  Proposed Calendar for 1997 - 98 to be published in the
Catalog and other appropriate publications of the University on
the appropriate pages in each publication.

(See attached pages for the proposed Calendar for Fall 1997 and
Spring 1998)


Summary of the attached:      

                           A.  Fall 1997

a) Registration Friday ,15 August
b)  First day of class Monday, 18 August
c)  Fall break Monday/Tuesday, 6/7 October
d)  End Term I, 14 October; Begin Term II, 15 October
e)  Advising / registration weeks 20 October - 14 November
f)  Thanksgiving break, Wednesday, 26 November - Sunday, 30
November
g)  Last day of class Friday, 5 December
h)  Assessment week December 8 - December 12
i)  Grades due Monday, 15 December


                         B. Spring 1998

a)  Registration Friday, 9 January
b)  First day of class Monday, 12 January
c)  Martin Luther King holiday Monday, 19 January
d)  End Term I, March 6; begin Term II , March 9
e)  Spring break Monday, 23 March - Friday, 27 March

f)  Advising / registration weeks, Monday 30 March - Friday, 24
April
g)  Last day of class Friday, 8 May
h)  Assessment week 11 May - 15 May
I)  Commencement 16 May
j)  Grades due Monday, 18 May

Faculty are expected to meet with students throughout the entire
period of each semester and to utilize the assessment week at the
end of the semester as a week of classes during which assessment
measures, appropriate to the pedagogy of the course are conducted
(see policy in the Faculty Handbook, pp 75 - 76, Section 5.2.1.2)


4.  Impact Statement:
a)  Adds one week to the length of the academic year and spring
semester. 

b) Current Labor Day observance is deleted.  No change in
remaining holidays.  

c)  Classes will begin on Monday for each semester rather than
mid-week as in prior years.

d)  Faculty and Students will continue to have flexibility in
alternative methods of assessing comprehension and learning as
described in the Faculty Handbook  pp 75 - 76 Section 5.2.1.2. 

e)  Monday evening classes will continue to have one less meeting
than other evening classes in the Spring semester..  


f) In the Spring semester Monday day classes will continue to
have one less meeting time relative to classes meeting on T, W,
R, F due to observance of Martin Luther King Birthday.

g)  Consultation with Gene McDowell suggests no negative impact
in coordinating with calendars for any of the graduate programs
delivered through the Graduate Center. 

h)  Number of class days in the Academic Year will rise from the
current 148 to 154.  The minimum prescribed from President
Spangler is 150.   Fall 1997 will have 75 class days plus
Assessment Week, and Spring 1998 will have 79 class days plus
assessment week.

5.  Rationale:
For several years the North Carolina Legislature has expressed
interest in the amount of teaching and length of the academic
year in the UNC system.  Historically within the 16 campus system
there has been considerable variance in length of semesters,
number of class days, and overall length of the academic year. 
Final examination days are not considered class days by the UNC
General Administration.

In response to this "Legislative Interest"  President Spangler
has directed each campus of the UNC System to submit no later
than 1 October 1997 a proposed calendar containing a minimum
of 150 class days exclusive of any final examination period.

The Academic Affairs Group (Jim Pitts; Tom Cochran; Ron
Manheimer; Elaine Fox; Archer Gravely; Merritt Moseley; Kern
Parker; Caroline Miller; Mel Blowers; and myself) met several
times to consider alternative responses to President Spangler's
Directive.  This proposal as amended by APC is the result of
those meetings.  

 It was felt that starting classes on Monday was preferable to
beginning classes in mid or the end of the week.  The proposal 
retains the overall length of the fall semester and all existing
holidays,except Labor Day.  

The document was passed unanimously on September 12, 1996.  It
was amended on October 10, 1996.