WSU faculty senate discuss changes to fall break, vaccination requirements
Nov. 4—The Washington State University Faculty Senate discussed the possibility of changing fall break for students attending the institution at a meeting Thursday evening.
Brought up as a constituent concern, the senate recognizes students are working their hardest toward the end of the semester. Troy Bennefield, associate professor of music, asked the senate if there was a possibility to shorten the week-long break during Thanksgiving and create a two-day fall break after midterms. He said some students in the College of Arts and Sciences have been making their own short breaks by skipping classes a couple days after midterms.
Bert Tanner, an adjunct assistant professor in the chemical engineering and bioengineering department, said this isn't a terrible idea depending on the demands of the students. Since the school is back to in-person classes after virtual classes during the COVID-29 pandemic, he said people's bandwidth and capacity to process things has changed over the past couple of years.
Von Walden, a professor in the civic and environmental engineering department, said WSU is one of the only institution he's been at that takes off a full week for fall break. All the other institutions he's worked at — except the University of Idaho — have taken a four-day break. He said it's always difficult to come back to class after Thanksgiving as students often lose momentum.
Judi McDonald, a professor in the mathematics and statistics department, said the university investigated an October break and found retention rates among freshmen decreased. School officials decided against an early fall break after the vice provost found an article which showed some students who went home in October didn't come back because they didn't have the opportunity to build friendships and a relationship with the campus. Losing class days in the middle of October is also hard on the cadence of courses, and McDonald she wants all the teaching time with her students.
The Faculty Senate did not make a decision on the topic during its meeting Thursday.
Faculty Senate Chairperson Christine Horne also presented a budget report on COVID-19 spending. The University received three sources of federal funds that were used for reimbursements, including study abroad, parking fees, and housing and dining charges. Two of the funding sources required that the university provide emergency aid and Financial Needs Analysis support to students. The university also used these funds to subsidize internet for students and faculty by providing hotspots. Some money was spent on COVID-19 testing, hand sanitizer, masks and wipes. The school also subsidized off-campus housing and isolation rooms for people who needed to quarantine, and used some of the funds to purchase equipment and software for online learning, including online testing fees, Zoom membership and lost revenue.
The senate also discussed a proposal to add inoculation to COVID-19 as a student vaccination requirement. According to a memorandum discussed at the meeting, the Academic Affairs Committee approved the proposal Oct. 18 that would ask all newly enrolled students at a physical WSU campus to provide "proof of vaccination, demonstrated immunity to, or screening for certain illnesses," with the addition of a rule requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination. Starting in fall 2023, students attending a physical campus would have to submit proof of vaccination for COVID-19, hepatitis B, measles, pertussis (whooping cough) and varicella (chickenpox). Students attending the WSU Pullman campus would additionally need proof of vaccination for meningitis.
The Faculty Senate only discussed this issue among members — action was not taken at the meeting.
Pearce can be reached at epearce@dnews.com or on Twitter @Emily_A_Pearce.
