By: Essence Buckman, Staff Writer
Wofford College is known for many things, including its academic rigor, being the home of the Carolina Panthers’ training camp, Greek life, and many other attributes. It is also known for the date of the first day of classes. Since 1999, Wofford has resumed class on Labor Day. To many, this starting date is considered a late one. With school having started on Sept. 5, some are under the impression that an extra week was added to each semester.
This concern is due to this year’s finals lasting until Dec.16 compared to finals lasting until Dec. 11 last school year. Spring commencement is also the third weekend of May whereas it was the second weekend last year. Jennifer R. Allison, who works in the office of the registrar, provided information to clear up any confusion that people may have concerning the academic calendar.
First, she pointed out the history of Wofford’s late starting date via information from Dr. Phillip Stone, Wofford’s archivist and professor of government. As late as 1966, classes at Wofford started in mid-September. Commencement was the first Sunday in June. Those dates changed in the 1967-1968 academic year when interim was added. After that, the fall semester started about 10 days earlier and on a Thursday. Commencement moved to the last Sunday in May. What students believe to be a late starting date for Wofford is actually earlier compared to Wofford’s past.
For anyone curious as to why Wofford starts so late in the year compared to other schools, it’s because Wofford existed in an agricultural society. Allison says, “[The schedule] operated around the harvest. Young men were needed to gather the crops.” Regardless, Allison says she doesn’t believe there is any rhyme or reason as to why the first day of classes is on Labor Day now.
Overall, Labor Day falling late in the year happens every 8-10 years. The current students have not been at Wofford long enough to realize this, which explains why a change in the academic calendar may appear new or unfamiliar to them.
While this information clarifies the confusion with the spring and fall semesters, there is still the question about interim, or January term, starting on a Thursday compared to a usual Monday.
“Interim tends to be 20 meeting days,” Allison says. “The start date for interim is largely based on where January 1st falls. If it falls at the beginning of the week, then interim typically starts on Thursday of that week. The start date varies on when New Year’s Day falls during the week, ensuring there are a requisite number of meeting days and timing the completion of a term to provide a small window for faculty and students to prepare for the spring semester.”
This information clears up the specific misunderstandings regarding how the academic calendar is made according to season and scheduling. There is no extra week added to each semester like some have believed. It seems that way because Wofford started a week earlier last school year due to how late Labor Day fell in that year. Since Labor has not fallen as late in this year, Wofford has started at its usual time.
