This school year marks the first in four years that UNK students will not have the opportunity to take J-Term classes. The loss of J-Term will change the academic calendar to a shorter winter break, with spring classes ending earlier in May.
“J-Term originally started in response to COVID,” said Julie Shaffer, the senior vice chancellor of academic affairs. “So many people went online, so we thought about maybe having this three-week term for students to catch up.”
UNL, UNO, UNK and the Medical Center combine members to form a calendar committee to make decisions like this. In 2021, they implemented the idea of J-Term to not only aid students in staying on track to graduate but also to create time for meaningful experiential learning opportunities.
“This all began in January 2021,” said Todd Gottula, the senior director of UNK communications and marketing. “We had nearly 600 students enrolled in classes during the initial offering, generating close to 1,500 credit hours.”
The calendar committee only implemented J-Term for a few years. Each year, the committee examined the number of students enrolled in J-Term classes. In the past three years, they have seen a 2.5% decrease in undergraduate and an over 40% decrease in graduate.
“Very few students were utilizing it,” Shaffer said. “They used that extra time to maybe stay home and work, which taking out a J-Term could impact that, but now with being out earlier, they’ll have more time in the summer to work.”
The new calendar will keep fall start dates the same but will shorten the winter break. Because of this, students, faculty and staff will be getting out around the first week of May. This will also lengthen summer term courses.
Alyssa Fortik, a junior double majoring in Exercise Science and Sports Management, never took a J-Term, but was looking forward to the possibility of one this year.
“If J-Term wouldn’t have gotten removed this year, I would have taken a course for sure,” Fortik said. “Because I’ve changed my major a couple of times, I’ve fallen a bit behind, and it would’ve been helpful.”
While Fortik may not have utilized this opportunity, she has taken summer classes the past two years, which she feels serve the same purpose as J-Term.
“I feel like J-Term kind of offers the same experiences that summer classes did with me,” Fortik said. “Taking a single course at a time, like I did in the summer, made it easier to focus and really understand the material even though it’s fast-paced.”
J-Term may not be coming back for now, but Shaffer and the calendar committee do think it is important to talk to students to gather input for the future.
“When it comes to things like this, we need to engage students more in making sure they are meeting students’ needs,” Shaffer said. “It would be extremely beneficial to understand what students need through forums or conversations versus trying something and hoping students like it.”
