Today, Chancellor DiStefano and Provost Moore announced an update to the academic calendar that will affect the schedule of final exams and the spring commencement, starting with the 2017-2018 academic year.
Fall 2017
Last Day of Classes
Dec. 14 (Thurs.)
Reading Day
Dec. 15 (Fri.)
Final Exams
Dec. 16-20 (Sat.-Weds.)
Degree Conferral Date
Dec. 21 (Thurs.)
Spring 2018
Last Day of Classes
May 3 (Thurs.)
Reading Day
May 4 (Fri.)
Final Exams
May 5-9 (Sat.-Weds.)
The new schedule, developed in collaboration with the Office of the Registrar, will move up the last day of classes and final exam schedule, and culminate with the campuswide commencement ceremony being hosted on a Thursday morning. This differs from past academic calendars where commencement and recognition ceremonies were hosted on Fridays or Saturdays.
Starting with Fall 2017, the last day of classes will now fall on a Thursday, and will be followed by a reading day on Friday. The campus reading day was re-established in Fall 2014 after an extensive campaign by the student body and student government to provide one complete study day between the end of classes and the beginning of finals.
Final exams will begin on Saturday and continue through Wednesday.
Starting in Spring 2018, the campuswide commencement ceremony will be held on Thursday morning, followed by the college, school and departmental recognition ceremonies. During the fall term, both Thursday and Friday will be available for these ceremonies, which are now scheduled collaboratively by the Commencement Committee and campus programs.
Updates reflecting the new schedule will be made to the posted academic calendar, commencement website and other sites over the coming week.