Why Did Spring Break Come Early This Year?

Many Bobcats at Texas State University are unhappy about the decision to have Spring Break a week earlier than the surrounding universities this year, and wonder what the reason was behind it all.

SACS (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools) scheduled visit to the Texas State campus had determined when students would leave for Spring Break. The SACS accreditation team was on Texas State’s campus from March 23^rd to the 25^th this past week for the reaffirmation of the universities accreditation. Every 10 years SACS visits the university to evaluate its academic programs and policies.

Texas State had decided two years ago that it would be best if the students were already in session when SACS arrived. “The president and the cabinet felt it was important for students, faculty and staff to be on campus the week prior and the week of their visit,” said Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management & Marketing Dr. Michael R. Heintze. “Therefore, the decision was made in the summer of 2008 to change the spring break dates, and the 2010 academic calendar was immediately modified.”

In 2008 the university appointed certain staff members of Texas State to the QEP (Quality Enhancement Plan) Theme Development Team to examine the universities QEP and propose new ideas and themes for the plan. “Over the past 24 months, faculty and staff have worked to prepare our accreditation self-study report,” said Heintze.

Part of this report contains information about PACE Personalized (Academic and Career Exploration, pace.txstate.edu). This web site will help incoming freshmen choose a major and establish their career goals. PACE calls their web site “a one-stop location for personalized freshman advising, career planning and mentoring.”

The report also contains other plans that will improve Texas State’s academic programs such as: “academic and career planning assignments in the University Seminar, academic and career planning activities in the colleges, and personalized portfolio technology that tracks learning experience.” The final stage in the accreditation process involves a site visit by the SACS team.

Of course, the only part of the process the students had a problem with was the site visit that interfered with the timing of Spring Break. “We don’t all have our friends here at Texas State,” said George Maturino, a radiation therapy major. “They’re everywhere else and spring break is a good time to meet up with them.”

Some of the students were also frustrated about not seeing much of their family over Spring Break as well. “My mom and dad were at work, and my sister was still in Dallas going to school while I stayed home,” said Nisha Dhagat, a CLS major. “I would’ve liked to have spent more time with them over the break.”

Overall, even though the students were disappointed about the scheduling of Spring Break this year, they understood the value of this important process. “It is important that we don’t lose our accreditation, so that we are able to get jobs with our degrees after graduation,” said Tanya Silva, an art history major at Texas State. “So, as long as we don’t lose our accreditation, I’m fine with having spring break a week earlier.”

http://www.avpie.txstate.edu/SACS/

http://www.sacs-qep.txstate.edu/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWZST8nRJ3g