Dean Byerly Dispels Winter Term Rumors

Author: [no author name found]

As discussion on the future of Winter Term continues on campus, speculation mounts as to what calendar could replace the current system. Dean of Faculty, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of English Alison Byerly said that the Educational Affairs Committee (EAC) plans to submit a proposal regarding Winter Term to the faculty sometime in January.

At that point, faculty members can propose amendments to the options presented, or submit their own idea. The Student EAC, led by Stephen Clarke '04.5, is currently working with the EAC, offering input to help develop options.

"We are still looking at several alternative proposals," Byerly said. "The EAC's proposal will represent the best way to address the Winter Term Issue."

There are several components to the Winter Term issue to be considered:

Any change decided upon this year would not take effect for another four years at the least. "It will not be a sudden, dramatic change," said Byerly. "If [Middlebury] went to a two-semester system, changes to several other aspects of the curriculum would have to take place as well."

Current possibilities include switching the calendar to a two 14-week semester system and reshaping Winter Term.

Aspects of Winter Term being considered for revision include decreasing the number of Winter Terms students are required to take - fewer required Winter Terms means that less courses would have to be offered each term - and modifying distribution and curriculum requirements to compensate for changes made.

The faculty will vote to make the final decision regarding Winter Term from a curriculum standpoint. Officially, however, the Board of Trustees must approve any changes made to the College Calendar.

While the costs associated with Winter Term are significant, the primary reason to alter the 4-1-4 system is not budgetary.

The EAC is not considering options that would restrict instructional time.

A change to a two 14-week semester calendar likely means that there would be a longer winter and/or Thanksgiving break.

Byerly asserts that this review of Winter Term is about the curriculum. "Students feel it is about a lifestyle change," she said. "The faculty mostly considers the academic aspects. The courses offered have to be sufficiently challenging to justify the break between fall and spring, [they] have to be worthy of the Middlebury curriculum."