Schedule

From CarlWiki

This article is about the daily schedule at Carleton while classes are in session. For the yearly schedule, see academic year.

Carleton's daily schedule follows a block pattern similar to that of many other colleges. These blocks are used to allocate time for both classes and on-campus work. The block system is somewhat unintuitive, and even many seniors are unable to say off-hand what the time span of a given block is.

Monday and Wednesday blocks are 1 hour and 10 minutes long and span from 8:30 AM to 4:20 PM, while Friday follows a similar schedule but with blocks shortened to exactly 1 hour to accomodate the weekly convocation. Tuesday and Thursday class blocks are 1 hour and 45 minutes long and span from 8:15 AM to 4:30 PM, with a 1-hour "Common Time" block in between (see below).

The names of The MWF blocks are designated with an "a" suffix, while the TTh blocks are designated with a "c" suffix. The number before the "c" can be interpreted as referring to the Monday/Wednesday "a" blocks that the "c" block overlaps with. (The exception is 5,6c, which does not overlap with 5a. The reason for this is that the "c" designations date back to before Common Time was implemented. See below.)

Although not a strict rule, the tendency is for science and mathematics courses, especially those based on frequent homework, to take place on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (a total of 3 hours 20 minutes per week) while humanities and literature courses, especially those based on in-class discussions, more commonly take place on Tuesday and Thursday. Introductory-level language classes meet every weekday, but only for 1-hour half-blocks on Tuesday and Thursday.

Common Time

Common Time is a recent addition to the Carleton schedule. It was placed on the CSA ballot for the election of Winter Term 2001, at the request of the ECC. Before that, Tuesday-Thursday blocks spanned from 8:30 AM to 4:15 PM, and the break between blocks was 15 minutes long. (As now, block were 1 hour 45 minutes long.) Although the majority of students voted against it, it was implemented nonetheless after closed discussion among faculty and trustees. There was some controversy among students over their lack of involvement in the proposal.

The intent was to encourage more communal interaction by creating an hour during which no person had any academic obligations. Many hypothetical scenarios for how this might occur were proposed at the time, including students treating professors to lunch (an activity that has long been subsidized); however, the main result has been that departments run their own "tables," mostly in the East Dining Hall, during that time (e.g. Physics Table, French Table...), where both professors and students sit and converse. A major drawback is that both dining halls are usually crowded to near-capacity during Common Time.

Where Are the "b" Days?

"a" days are Monday/Wednesday/Friday, and "c" days are Tuesday/Thursday. Carleton once held classes in a schedule more or less equivalent to that on the "a" days on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. These were known as "b" days. "b" days have not been used since the 1989-1990 academic year.