At its March 22 meeting, the University Council approved a proposal for the 2018-2019 Academic Calendar from the Educational Affairs Committee by a 79-44 vote.
Under this proposal, classes for the fall semester would begin Aug. 13, 2018, and end Dec. 4, 2018. Classes for the spring semester would begin Jan. 9, 2019, and end April 30, 2019.
Extensive discussion on the proposal included the length of the calendar; concerns over the fall and spring start dates from students and faculty members regarding internships and conferences; SACSCOC requirements; federal and University System of Georgia calendar guidelines; the final exam policies of UGA and other USG schools, as well as the notion of counting final exam time as instructional time; restrictions faced when developing an academic calendar; and research that will be conducted by the board of regents to provide clarity on the academic calendar issue across the USG.
The proposal will now go to UGA President Jere W. Morehead for final approval.
