TRANSITION TEAMS have studied various areas that will be affected by the academic calendar shift for school year (SY) 2015-2016 and plans are underway to address concerns, said University President Jose Ramon Villarin, SJ.

The preparations for next school year include scheduling major renovations and regular maintenance work during the summer months and foreseeing expected changes in relation to student activities.

The shift will move the university’s academic calendar from June-March to August-May, with SY 2015-2016 officially starting during the summer term dubbed as Intersession.

In a schedule posted on the official Ateneo website, the Intersession will span June 8 to July 18; the first semester will be held from August 10 to December 12 and the second semester from January 18 to May 21.

During the Intersession, classes will proceed as usual for students required by their curriculum to take summer courses. The Summer Junior Term Abroad program and study tours in culture and language are available options for those without required courses.

In response to the scheduled classes during the summer months, additional air-conditioning units were installed in the PLDT-Convergent Technologies Center and the John Gokongwei School of Management buildings in December.

Further proposals from the administration, which include covered walkways and shaded garden areas, are still being evaluated in view of the campus master plan and available resources.

According to Villarin, the transition into the new academic calendar is proceeding smoothly. “There are challenges, although these are not insurmountable.  The community’s cooperation and creativity have been outstanding,”

He said that the main challenge for the institution is to ensure its growth into becoming a global university capable of attending to global concerns.

“The synchronization [with the global community] allows for greater flow of people, knowledge and services. So it is not just the ‘traffic’ in academic instruction that will increase, but the inbound and outbound flow in research and outreach activity as well,” said Villarin.

As of press time, the Office of Admission and Aid was not available for a statement regarding their plans for admission and enrolment of prospective students for next school year.

On student activities

Office of Student Activities (OSA) Director Christopher Castillo said that a task force was convened in November and is expected to submit a proposed student activities calendar covering dates from March 2015 until June 2016.

A final calendar is expected to be drafted by the end of January and will be distributed to organizations and stakeholders in February.

The task force is composed of OSA formators, a Sanggunian representative and a Council of the Organizations of the Ateneo (COA) representative.

Castillo said that the period before the Intersession, when there will be no classes, is a good opportunity for both OSA and the organizations to minimize normal operations and focus on their internal systems first.

However, he also recognizes the opportunity to conduct organizational work and is currently considering whether to minimize operations or not.

Castillo said that there are several challenges presented by the adjusted calendar on traditional student activities, such as the Orientation Seminar (Orsem) and the COA Recruitment Week (Recweek), which are now set for August.

Orsem is an event that prepares and welcomes freshmen into the Ateneo while Recweek is a specified time for students to sign-up and apply for accredited organizations.

Castillo pointed out that August is the month with the most holidays and most class disruptions due to weather.

“Given the conditions of August usually, that gives you less leeway or buffers, or it could pose logistical problems in terms of the weather,” he explained.

Castillo said that evaluation seminars for organizations are now expected to occur in December.

Given this, he said there is a high possibility that students may not be as available or may not be willing to work at all during the Christmas break.

Castillo also said that COA organizations in the Sector-Based and Faith Formation Clusters need to consider that there area partners are still following the June-March academic calendar.

He also mentioned that organizations’ Christmas carolling may not be possible due to the moratorium on student activities before final examinations.

Castillo added that carolling is a significant fundraiser for organizations and restricting it would leave a negative financial impact.

Currently, OSA is considering lifting the moratorium in relation to carolling only.

Castillo, however, acknowledged that students may opt not to carol altogether in preparation for their final examinations.

Castillo’s team is currently looking into these challenges with their final calendar expected to come with proposed solutions.

Student sentiments

Sanggunian Vice President Ryan Yu and COA President Karlo Abadines both agreed with the points raised by Castillo.

Abadines added that he already informed Ateneo organizations ahead of time to start preparing for the shift and to consider planning during the extended break.

Yu said that the Sanggunian is thinking about the shift “in terms of opportunities.”

He cited that the Sanggunian may be able to send more people to conferences abroad, given the synchronized calendar with international institutions.

Yu also mentioned that the Sanggunian will undergo a constitutional amendment during the Intersession that will involve major structural changes and the addition and removal of key positions.

Yu, however, also acknowledged the problem posed by the shift on Buklod Atenista, the annual conference of the student governments of the five Ateneo universities in the country, since the other four universities are not shifting academic calendars.

The five Ateneo universities are the Ateneo de Zamboanga, Ateneo de Davao, Ateneo de Naga, Xavier University and Ateneo de Manila.