As course scheduling for the Spring 2020 semester quickly approaches, it’s hard for some students to believe the Fall 2019 semester started only a little over a month ago on Aug. 26. 
As students at the University eagerly await fall break, some may have noticed this semester’s fall break does not begin until Oct. 17, two weeks later than the 2018 fall break, which started on Oct. 4. 
This change could be due to this semester beginning six days later than the Fall 2018 semester. 
Mass communications sophomore Gabrielle Clements said she did not notice classes began later this year since she was already on campus before the semester started. 
“In all honesty, I didn’t notice. I got here very early for RA training, so the year is flying by for me,” Clements said.
Since classes started almost a week later this semester, final exams will be scheduled for the second week of December rather than the first.
Though winter break is still the same amount of time, the time frame has slightly shifted, with Spring 2020 classes beginning on Jan. 13.
Clay Benton, the senior associate registrar in the Office of the University Registrar, explained that the first day of classes may vary by year as a result of the natural progression of the annual calendar.
“Every five to seven years, the calendar naturally resets,” Benton said. “For example, the first of January is not always going to be a Monday. As a result, classes are not always going to start on the same day in August.”
Whether a student prefers to begin classes sooner or later in the calendar year, pre-business administration sophomore Kaitlyn Lanaux pointed out that starting later allows students to rest longer after winter break holiday celebrations.
“I think it’s nice that we go back a little later because we have more time to recuperate after New Year’s,” Lanaux said.
In regard to holiday breaks planned for the Spring 2020 semester, spring break will not align with the Easter holiday as it had in the previous year. Benton said this occurrence depends on both the annual calendar and the decision of the LSU Faculty Senate.
“Some years, spring break will encompass Good Friday, and in other years they will be separated,” Benton said. “We follow a Faculty Senate Resolution governing the placement of Spring Break.”
The last day of classes for the Spring 2020 semester is May 2, with finals scheduled through May 9.