Spring break at the University of Colorado at Boulder will continue according to schedule in 2004 and 2005, as recommended by the CU-Boulder Council of Deans.
This year's spring break for campus students and faculty will occur March 24-28 on a schedule set five years in advance.
The Boulder Valley School District had requested that the Boulder campus reschedule its 2004 and 2005 spring breaks to the first week of April to coincide with the school district's spring break, which has to be moved to accommodate state testing. For the past few years, the district and university spring breaks have coincided.
Provost Phil DiStefano expressed his regret that the dates could not be rescheduled as a convenience for the community at this time. He said changing the schedule would create too much of a burden on CU-Boulder students preparing for final exams in early May.
"Our first consideration must be our students," DiStefano said. "Since CU-Boulder's school year concludes in early May, changing the schedule would push the break too close to semester's end to be academically advisable."
The issue recently came before the Council of Deans, a group that reports directly to DiStefano. He said the council strongly recommended maintaining the current schedule.
"The deans felt that an April spring break would simply be too late in the semester for our students to prepare well for exams," DiStefano said. "Unlike that of school districts, our spring semester ends in early May so we must allow adequate time for study and preparation between spring break and the end of school."
CU-Boulder's 3,430 staff members are less affected by the scheduling than the rest of the campus community. While CU-Boulder students and faculty have a full week off for spring break, the campus remains open for four of the five days, closing on Friday to allow a day off for staff as well.
"I'm sympathetic with the Boulder Valley School District's situation and want to cooperate as much as we can without harming our students' education," DiStefano said. "But we must keep the calendar as is, at least until the next opportunity to review it in a few years."