During last week’s unusual winter storm, Texas Christian University canceled classes from Tues., Feb. 16 through Fri., Feb. 19, and will need to restore class hours to the schedule to make the academic calendar whole and meet accreditation requirements.
University regulatory requirements are determined by the U.S. Department of Education and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). In a normal year, TCU delivers more than the minimum hours, so most inclement weather days do not need to be restored. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Spring 2021 semester was shortened, with online learning being the plan for inclement weather days. Regional power outages did not allow for online learning.
The university will need to make up three days of classes, with a few exceptions for courses needing to make up a slightly greater amount of time.
Make-up Class Schedule
The following dates have been designated for make-up classes to be delivered online only, synchronously or asynchronously. Once instructors determine how classes will
be delivered, they will communicate directly with students.
Original Class Day: Wednesday, Feb. 17 >> Make-up Class Day: Saturday, April 10
Original Class Day: Thursday, Feb. 18 >> Make-up Class Day: Saturday, March 20
Original Class Day: Friday, Feb. 19 >> Make-up Class Day: Saturday, March 27
Classes Delivered Synchronously: Deliver class at the same time of day that the class is normally scheduled, to ensure students do not have two make-up classes at the same time.
Determining Dates for Make-up Classes
Academic Affairs leadership partnered with representatives from the Provost Council, Faculty Senate, Student Government Association and Graduate Student Senate to determine the make-up schedule, taking all feedback and scheduling concerns into consideration.
- Faculty and dean representatives suggested that holding a make-up class Saturday, February 27, is too soon.
- Student representatives felt strongly that Saturdays surrounding Spring Refresh and Easter should not be scheduled for make-up days.
- Since fewer classes are held on Fridays, all representatives agreed that it is better to schedule the two successive make-up Saturdays (March 20 and 27) for the more heavily scheduled teaching day (Thursday) followed by the lighter teaching day (Friday).
- Make-up days were scheduled to avoid adding increased workload to the last few weeks of the semester when projects are due and students are preparing for final exams.
Exceptions
Classes that do not meet according to a traditional class schedule (such as classes meeting for a seven-week session) will require alternate make-up arrangements. Deans and faculty teaching these classes will be notified separately, by Friday, Feb. 26, and asked to inform their students of make-up requirements.