Passed: May 19, 2023
Vote results and comments
Posted: March 2023
Sponsors: Listed Below
Original proposed resolution
Example Exceptions
Whereas in 2011, the Faculty Senate passed a Sense of the Senate Academic Work During Scheduled Breaks Resolution to limit academic coursework over scheduled breaks, noting that “student workloads have become an increasing cause of concern in relation to student mental health and stress . . .” and that “short breaks from academic requirements are intentionally included in the academic calendar to provide rest, respite and a break from schoolwork”;
Whereas the 2011 resolution does not constitute Faculty Senate legislation; rather, a Sense of the Senate resolution serves as a means for the Faculty Senate “to communicate its sentiment”[1];
Whereas not only does the 2011 Academic Work During Scheduled Breaks Resolution lack binding authority by virtue of its form, but it also lacks authority by virtue of its content – it does not contain any requirements, rather, it “strongly discourage[es]” faculty from “framing assignments in such a way that necessitates academic work over Fall Break, Thanksgiving Break, February Break, or Spring Break . . .”;
Whereas since and despite the 2011 resolution, students have expressed concern about having to devote time to academic coursework during scheduled breaks, and in 2016, the Student Assembly sought to put teeth into the 2011 resolution by proposing to the Faculty Senate a Reducing Academic Work Assigned Over Break Resolution, which the Faculty Senate did not take up;
Whereas recently, in a Cornell Daily Sun article, first-year undergraduate students reported being “overtaken by a large workload” during February break[2];
Whereas according to a 2019 mental health review of the Cornell Ithaca campus, the number of students reporting excessive stress has increased significantly in recent years, compromising students’ wellbeing, and a specific recommendation from the review is immediate “adherence” to the 2011 resolution;
Whereas the sponsors of this resolution agree with this recommendation and believe that to achieve “adherence” it is necessary to revise the resolution in form and content, converting what is now a recommendation to a proscription and clarifying and harmonizing expectations across faculties and students as follows;
Be it therefore resolved that subject only to the three exceptions set forth below, faculty may not assign graded academic coursework that requires students’ devotion of time during scheduled breaks:
- Students are expected to be prepared for and participate in class sessions that meet immediately after scheduled breaks, for example, by keeping up with reading assignments during scheduled breaks and participating in class discussion and active learning activities in the same manner as normally expected;
- Students who have been granted extensions through scheduled breaks for graded academic coursework or assessments may find it necessary to complete such graded academic coursework or prepare for such assessments over break;
- Courses that have a travel/field component or a clinical component may expect students to conduct such academic coursework during scheduled breaks;
Be it further resolved that with the exception of graded academic coursework and assessments for which students have received extensions, including make-up exams, faculty may not hold a graded exam or quiz, conduct an in-class graded assignment, or have due a graded assignment the day following the last day of a scheduled break, thereby reducing the need for students to devote time during their break to such endeavors; to be clear, in such instances, faculty need not wait until their next class session for an assignment to be due, rather, they may have a graded assignment due a day other than their class meeting date;
Be it further resolved that any of Cornell’s professional degree programs that have scheduled breaks that differ from the established breaks set by the University at large for the main Ithaca campus and the Cornell Tech campus shall implement this policy based on their own calendars and understandings of scheduled breaks[3];
Be it further resolved that as set forth in the 2011 resolution, at the beginning of each semester, the Dean of Faculty shall remind the faculty of the resolution requirements.
Be it finally resolved that this formal resolution shall supersede the 2011 Faculty Senate Sense of the Senate Academic Work During Scheduled Breaks Resolution and the requirements of the present resolution shall replace the 2011 resolution in the Faculty Handbook section on “Work Over Break.”
University Faculty Sponsors
Diane Bailey
Brad Bell
Kendra Bischoff
George Boyer
Laura Brown
Austin Bunn
Chris Fromme
Cole Gilbert
Natasha Holmes
Lee Humphreys
Karim-Aly Kassam
Harry Katz
JR Keller
Lori Leonard
Corinna Loeckenhoff
Kate McCullough
Lisa Nishii
Thomas Overton
Marvin Pritts
Masha Raskolnikov
Sharon Sassler
Margaret Smith
Jed Sparks
Mike Thompson
Tudorita Tumbar
[1] See the Faculty Senate description of a Sense of the Senate resolution.
[2] (Chierchio, S. (2022, March 1.) First-years question if workloads allowed for a February break at all. The Cornell Daily Sun. https://cornellsun.com/2022/03/01/first-years-question-if-workloads-allowed-for-a-february-break-at-all/.
[3] Such programs include, but are not limited to, ones offered by Cornell Tech, SC Johnson College of Business, Cornell Law School, and the College of Veterinary Medicine. Official academic calendars, including scheduled breaks, for each of these professional degree programs are published and available from the programs’ websites.
