Will these textbooks need to be opened since reading week is so early in the fall semester. (Yasmin Lee, CMRU.ca)
Mount Royal University (MRU) has its reading week in October, which is unlike all other universities where the break is held in November. Now this is for the fall semester but for some reason MRU falls into traditional timing in the winter semester. So as an MRU student I think our fall term break is too early.
MRU vs Other Alberta universities
Further, since MRU schedules their reading week from October 10-13 this year, let’s look at when other universities in Alberta hold their reading week:
- The University of Calgary schedules reading week from November 12-18
- The University of Lethbridge holds their fall term break from November 11-17
- The University of Alberta plans their fall term reading break from November 14-17
From this we can clearly see that all other universities in Alberta are in the same boat. The norm is for the break for students to take place in November but MRU chooses to be special.
Purpose of reading week
Reading week is a time where university students don’t have to go to class which allows for a well needed break. It also is intended to allow students to catch up or get ahead on their studies before the final half of the semester. As a student at MRU, the purpose of reading week feels non existent because it is so early.
Pros and cons of an early break
Although MRU students have a very early break compared to the other universities there are pros and cons to both.
Pros:
- Having an earlier break is seeming to be more beneficial for mental health and academic success
- We aren’t bombarded on break with the rush of other students who are also on their break
Cons:
- Our midterms are then made to be earlier to be done before reading break
- With it being in the first five weeks of school we then have a long nine weeks of school afterwards
Now, I see both sides and understand that having a reading break earlier allows students to get the resources they need before it’s too late or prepare for midterms. However, in my experience it has felt like the semester has barely started before the break and I have always had multiple midterms right before which defeats part of the purpose.
Feedback on reading week
The SAMRU VP responded to students on the MRU Chatter Instagram telling them the pros of an early reading week but also mentions that students are welcome to reach out with feedback about the timing. So, maybe a solution would be to still have an early reading break, compared to other Albertan universities, but have it at the end of October or the beginning of November. Possibly by holding our break a few weeks later, maybe we would feel that the semester is more balanced.
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