Good news for Kansas University students: You’ll probably be spending less time in class beginning in fall 2006.

Don’t get too excited, though. It’s just five minutes less per class, and it’s only for classes that meet Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The reason for the proposal is simple, said Don Steeples, vice provost for scholarly support. Students who take courses that meet twice a week are in class 10 minutes more than those in classes that meet three times a week.

“There’s an imbalance between Geology 101 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday that has 150 minutes of instruction a week versus the same class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which is 160 minutes,” Steeples said. “It’s just a matter of equalizing the amount of time in class.”

Typical class periods on Tuesdays and Thursdays convene on the hour and dismiss at 20 minutes past the next hour, a total of 80 minutes per class. Most classes that meet Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays convene at half-past the hour and dismiss at 20 minutes past the next hour, for 50 minutes per class.

Steeples said KU and Baylor were the only two universities in the Big 12 that had three-hour classes meeting more than 150 minutes per week, which is the standard set by accrediting associations. The earliest the change could go into effect is fall 2006, he said.

A side benefit for the change would be giving students more time to get to their next class on Tuesdays on Thursdays.

“It’s tough to get from, for example, Robinson (Center) to JRP (Joseph R. Pearson Hall) in 10 minutes,” Steeples said. “There would be a lot of days you’d be sweating to get there.”

Students aren’t likely to oppose a proposal to spend less time in class.

Kansas University is considering a plan to trim five minutes from Tuesday-Thursday courses to equalize weekly class schedules. The move would give students such as Mellissa Burdette, left, Kansas City, Kan., freshman, and Keshia Coleman, Denver freshman, more time to walk from class to class. They shared an umbrella during Thursday's rain.

“There really hasn’t been any dissent,” said Steve Munch, student body president. “I think it’s a common-sense proposal. When it comes down to it, the impact for students is you’re going to be in class 10 minutes less per week.”

Student Senate is in the process of drafting a resolution in support of the change.

Faculty leaders also say they don’t expect much opposition.

“I don’t have too much feeling about that, either in favor or opposed,” said Joe Sicilian, an economics professor who chairs the University Senate Executive Committee. “If anybody is concerned about shortening the Tuesday and Thursday times, it would be those teaching graduate classes. It’s hard to hold students’ attention, especially on the undergraduate level.”

The class change could alter a long-standing KU tradition, however. The steam whistle that sounds on campus, signaling the end of class, might need to be reprogrammed.

Currently, the whistle sounds at 20 minutes past the hour from 7:20 a.m. to 5:20 p.m. Monday through Friday, with additional soundings at 10:50 a.m. and 3:50 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays.

6News video: KU proposal would shorten class lengths (10-07-04)

Changing the end of Tuesday and Thursday classes would require KU workers to reprogram the whistle to sound at 15 minutes past the hour those days.

Les Rawlings, who helps program the whistle, said he thought it might take awhile for Lawrence residents to get used to the new time for the whistle to echo through the Kaw Valley.

“I think it would make a difference to people,” he said, “but I don’t know how much.”