SUSTAINABILITY
Friday-only classes

by Florence Kizza

T.G.I.F.

We’ve reported on schools that have experimented with four day work weeks. Many of them did so to show appreciation for their staff, and in some cases to reduce commuting and benefit the environment. Those schools found themselves able to maintain student services at customary levels—and in many instances, student services improved as a result of extended office hours.

Now, what about student schedules? Let’s look at three schools who accommodate Friday-only student class schedules.

How does it work?

There are two popular ways to accommodate a four day work week, and the same is true so far for Friday-only classes. Both Friday-only models enable students to take a full semester course load while showing up on campus one day of the week.

One is a classroom model in which a student has four courses every Friday, for a total of 12 credit hours. That day begins around 8am and ends near 10pm. "It is a long, rigorous day," admits Phyllis Foley, dean of social science and education at Volunteer State Community College. "It’s not for the faint of heart. It requires a great deal of discipline."

Another is a hybrid model in which a student has one lengthy classroom Friday each month. The rest of the time, his or her courses are conducted online. "It’s basically an online 12-credit curriculum with 25 percent of the instruction provided face to face, once a month" explains Foley.

What are the benefits?

Ask an adult student. She will have to engage and pay for college-related childcare one day a week instead of more. If she opts for the hybrid model, it’s reduced to one day a month.

"Many of our students are stay-at-home moms, or moms with daycare concerns," says Foley. "The childcare side of education is an opportunity to be of real assistance to students."

Coming to campus only one day a week is beneficial for students who can arrange a four-day work week with their own employers. All students can benefit from using less gas and driving time to and from campus. Aiken Technical College began Friday-only classes in 2006 to help students deal with $3/gallon gas prices. When prices spiked higher in summer 2008, Volunteer State and J. Sargeant Reynolds began offering Friday-only classes for the same reason.

Mixing it up is popular

Campuses have learned that Friday-only classes can also be used by students in conjunction with other courses they’re taking. "Some students want to cut their number of trips from five days a week to three," says Nannette Smith, associate vice president of academic affairs at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College. Alice Frye, dean of allied health at Aiken Technical College, says the motivation to offer some courses only on Friday was to minimize the student time on campus rather than eliminate Monday through Thursday classes altogether.

Click this link to hear from administrators at Volunteer State Community College, J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College and Aiken Technical College to learn about their experiences with this unique schedule.