Upcoming 16-week Academic Calendar

What is a compressed calendar?

A compressed calendar “compresses” our 18-week semester into 16 weeks without losing instructional time within a classroom environment.

Why are we going to a 16-week calendar?

Discussions about a possible conversion to a compressed academic calendar for Merced College have taken place over the last 20 years. In Spring 2022, the college formed an Innovative Enrollment and Scheduling Workgroup charged with identifying innovative enrollment strategies and exploring merits of alternative academic calendars. The workgroup made a recommendation to implement a 16-week compressed academic calendar to provide more flexible course offerings for students.

• Community Colleges that have adopted a 16-week semester consistently report between 1 and 2% increase in student retention and success.
• The 16-week semester more closely aligns with many UC and CSU formats, facilitating the transition of transfer students. Research indicates that the compressed calendar offers greater convenience for students who are concurrently enrolled at more than one institution.
• Summer Term is 12-weeks, with course offerings in 4, 6, 8, and 12-week options, giving students more opportunities to complete course work.
• Colleges that have converted to the compressed calendar report overall satisfaction with increased scheduling flexibility. Faculty and administrators report that they appreciate the additional time to prepare for classes, process grades, and bring closure to previous term activities before the start of the next academic term.

Are we the only school doing this?

No! 65 out of 114 California community colleges have adopted the 16-week calendar. Additionally, the local 4-year institutions are also on a 16-week calendar.

When does the 16-week calendar take effect?

Fall 2025

Include a short video about the 16-week calendar?

Work in progress.

Will there still be late start classes?

Yes, we plan to offer courses in 16, 12, 8, and 4-week increments during the Fall and Spring semesters.

Would there be a winter intersession?

No. After researching other colleges winter session, most colleges with winter sessions are located in larger urban areas, like Los Angeles.

Would summer session be longer?

Yes. Summer will be a 12-week calendar in total, with courses being offered in 4, 6, 8, and 12-week increments.

Would there be a Spring break?

No. By not having a spring break the semester is a true 16 week calendar.

How would the new schedule affect instructional time?

The reduction in the number of weeks will result in an increase in the number of minutes a class meets a week, i.e. a 3-hour class in 18 weeks would increase to 3-hour and 15-minute a week in 16 weeks.

How would class times be affected?

Class times will be longer to account for the 2 fewer weeks of instruction.

How would lab times be affected?

A 3-hour a week lab increases to 3-hour and 15-minute sessions. The last week of instruction will be a traditional week, giving the opportunity to conduct a traditional lab or lab practicum the last week of the semester, as opposed to only having finals that week.

With longer class sessions, how will time conflicts and overlaps be avoided?

The Office of Instruction built a new block schedule pattern and Deans will use this pattern to build class schedule to avoid time conflicts.

Would the block schedule be adjusted to accommodate longer class times?

Would faculty adjust the number and contents of classwork assignments to fit within the reduced number of class meetings?

Instructors would tailor class syllabi and lesson plans to cover subject matter as specified in course outlines of record within the scheduled number of class meetings.

Are student fees/tuition for the shorter terms the same as those for the full semesters?

Yes. The fees will be the same, because the courses will have the same number of units.

How might the change to a compressed calendar impact students at local high schools taking dual enrollment classes?

Under a compressed calendar, dual enrollment students might have fewer meetings per class. There are currently calendar discrepancies between Merced College and local high school districts in terms of semester start dates and holiday breaks. A change to a compressed calendar should cause no greater impact than currently occurs.

Would we still have a finals schedule?

No. In a compressed calendar the entire last week is an instructional week. Classes are required to meet each meeting day as regular, but an instructor can decide to use one or more of the meeting days to distribute final exams.

Would student financial aid or Veteran or DACA benefits be affected by a change to a compressed calendar?

No. The full array of fee waivers, grants, and other aid to assist with educational costs would remain available to eligible students under a compressed academic calendar.

Would a compressed calendar help students adjust better to transfer institutions with shorter semesters?

The 16-week semester more closely aligns with many UC and CSU formats, giving students greater opportunity to take courses at both intuitions. Some students have expressed that a shorter semester had facilitated their transition.

Could we include a “college hour” in the schedule to accommodate for meetings?

The college hour is still in discussion.

What implications does this calendar have for classified staff?

Although classified professionals would experience no reduction in their regular annual work schedule resulting from a move to a compressed calendar, Merced College is working to make Fridays a HyFlex working day. HyFlex working day could give you the opportunity to work from home, if approved by supervisor. Other alternative is looking at extending ones’ working patterns, including days and hours can also be explored.

With potentially increased class offerings on Fridays and Saturdays, how will the work schedules and staffing requirements for Maintenance & Operations, Campus Safety, and Student Services be affected?

Work schedules and staffing requirements are regularly reviewed and adjusted under the current academic calendar. When Merced College moves to a compressed calendar, rescheduling of work hours and assignments would be made, in consultation with employee group representatives, to accommodate additional needs for services on Fridays and Saturdays if educational activity on those days is substantially increased.

What implications does this calendar have for counselors and librarians?

All faculty, counselors and librarian schedules will be considered through impacts bargaining on workload. The taskforce has gathered information from other colleges that have made the transition to a compressed calendar and found that non-instructional faculty either keep their existing schedule (same as for a 17.5-week term) or increase contact hours in a compressed schedule. This will be an item for the FA and District to negotiate, should it be determined we are moving forward.

Would the change to fewer instructional days affect paychecks?

No, since no instructional time is lost under a compressed calendar faculty paychecks would not be decreased as a result of changing to a compressed academic calendar. Classified professionals are paid for a forty-hour work week (the norm with some exceptions) and paychecks would not increase or decrease.

Would the change to fewer instructional days affect STRS or PERS retirement pensions?

No, the compressed calendar would not affect STRS or PERS pension amounts.

Would a compressed calendar affect our flex activities?

Not at the present time. Under the Board of Trustees approved 2025-26 Academic Calendar which includes 4 flex days, 2 per semester, both at the beginning of the term. Faculty will still be required to complete 24 hours of flex per year as outlined in the collective bargaining unit agreement.

Would course outlines need to be changed?

No, the curriculum, unit value, and student learning outcomes would all remain the same under a compressed calendar.

Would faculty have to change their syllabi?

Yes, the syllabus for each course would need to be changed to reflect the different number of class sessions, new meeting times, and other scheduling changes.