January 31, 2025
Dear Colleagues,
As detailed by the workgroup co-chairs below, a joint Academic Senate-Administration workgroup of the Academic Planning Council was formed to examine the possibilities of a common academic calendar for the University of California. I encourage you to give direct input to the workgroup by sending comments to calendar@ucop.edu about the educational benefits and drawbacks of different calendaring systems, the effects on research, transitional costs, including faculty effort, required resources for any change, and any other issues.
After the workgroup produces its report, as per the usual process, it will undergo a full systemwide Senate review, during which our Senate committees will review and comment. Given that any changes would affect each of us, I plan to solicit feedback from all UCR Senate members via a survey to complement committee reviews.
Best regards,
Ken
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Sending the below correspondence on behalf of the Co-Chairs of the Academic Planning Council’s Systemwide Academic Calendar Workgroup.
January 30, 2025
Academic Senate Division Chairs
Academic Council
Divisional Senate Executive Directors
RE: Academic Planning Council’s Systemwide Academic Calendar Workgroup
Dear Colleagues,
In October 2024, we were appointed to co-chair a joint Academic Senate-Administration workgroup of the Academic Planning Council (APC) that would examine the possibilities of a common academic calendar for the University of California. Our charge is to collect information on how different calendars and calendar features can advance our mission, and in particular, support UC students’ experiences and success. We are also identifying the opportunities and challenges associated with any conversion to a common calendar, including estimated costs and resources required for any change.
This is a fact-finding exercise, not one where the workgroup is recommending one calendar over another.
We are in the process of summarizing our work to date, with plans to send a report out for broader Senate and administrative review by the end of February or early March 2025. If you want to learn more about this effort or provide initial feedback, please visit the APC Workgroup website at ucop.edu/apc-calendar.
Sincerely,
Richard Arum Ahmet Palazoglu
Co-Chair, APC Calendar Workgroup Co-Chair, APC Calendar Workgroup
Professor of Sociology and Education, UC Irvine Vice Chair, UC Academic Senate
Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering, UC