Dal professors worry about a condensed fall semester

With the fall semester shortened due to the faculty lockout, professors at Dalhousie University are restructuring their courses to fit a condensed schedule. 

“Normally, I have 12 instances of classes,” says Spring Farrell, a Dalhousie pharmacology professor. “Now, I have to ask myself, ‘What can I do with 10? What can I cut? What can be compressed?’” 

The university’s board of governors and the Dalhousie Faculty Association ratified a new collective agreement on Sept. 17 after locking out nearly 1,000 faculty members on Aug. 20. Most fall classes, initially scheduled to begin on Sept. 2, were cancelled for the duration of the lockout.

Professors returned to work on Sept. 18 and, under the new collective agreement, had three labour days to prepare for classes to start on Sept. 23.

“We can’t make time, we can’t un-ring the bell. We were locked out for 30 days, and that’s done a lot of damage,” says Julia Wright, an English professor at Dalhousie. “It’s going to be a super busy term for everyone.”

Classes impacted by the lockout will now end on Dec. 10, leaving students with a 10-week fall term — approximately two weeks less than a standard fall or winter semester.

To ensure she’s able to cover essential course material, Farrell had to cut class sections that she normally includes as a tool to engage students.

“It was really hard to make those kinds of decisions, but what it comes down to is what topics are most fundamental right now,” she says. 

Farrell is planning on putting cut course material on Brightspace to give students the option to learn the content. 

Wright’s English courses are based on students’ skill progression between assignments. She’s worried that the condensed schedule will impact their development.

“If there’s not that time to develop from one assignment to the next, then it’s not working to support students’ learning,” she says.

Farrell and Wright both worry the changes will impact students’ ability to keep track of their coursework as the semester progresses.

They believe professors will have to work closely with students to ensure coursework is completed.

“I think a lot of it comes back to good pedagogical practice and trying to build courses and learning experiences so that it’s not about students learning stuff, it’s about students learning how to learn stuff,” says Farrell.

Farrell says students shouldn’t worry about learning every minor detail in their course. She says students need to focus on keeping morale high to get through the condensed schedule and increased workload.  

“You have a lot of balls in the air, so figure out which ones are glass and which ones are rubber,” Farrell says. “Which ones do you actually have to keep juggling?”

Wright worries that unexpected student absences, whether from sickness or unplanned events, could be detrimental. She says three weeks of missed coursework is “a tipping point” for students to complete the term successfully. 

With two weeks already taken away, Wright fears for students who may be forced to step away from classes for longer periods. 

“I’m concerned we’re going to see more students unable to complete the term. I don’t know how to deal with that,” she says. “There’s really nothing at the university that recognizes and supports students through a one or two-week interruption to term.”

Wright says she would like to see more external resources for students — such as study habit workshops and increased quiet spaces on campus — to ease their learning during the condensed semester.

She also encourages students to do more collaborative learning outside the classroom in informal study groups, saying it’s a good time to work cooperatively.

“If we all work together, then we can get through it. Sometimes life throws you curve balls, this is just a big curve ball,” says Wright.