FAQs

This is a general model of an academic semester, fall or spring. For the two-semester academic year, there must be at least 175 days. Within a semester, there may be a maximum of 18 weeks or a minimum of 16 weeks (or something in between). There may be a designated finals week. A certain number of FLEX days may replace instructional days and be distributed to the beginning, middle, and end of the semester. Legal Holiday must be observed; local Holidays and breaks may be observed. The length of the semester will impact course scheduling blocks, including what accelerated and late start sessions can be scheduled. The start and end dates also mark the occurrence of possible intersession terms and critical institutional and infrastructural resets. Ed Code specifies certain calendar types and outlines clear regulations. So long as we adhere to these rules, we can configure our academic semesters according to our shared values and mission.   

Designing an academic calendar is like working a Rubik’s cube: adjustment made to one area demand a mindful and strategic awareness of the impacts on other areas. Unlike Rubik’s cubes, there are no perfectly configured academic calendars in any community college system. Many have worked this puzzle before. Every choice is a trade-off; No one will be entirely happy with the calendar we configure because everyone will find something that could yet improved. We can only do our best by the values we share. 

To explore the sources behind all these FAQs, check out our collection of Guidelines and Resources

The 175 day rule means that colleges need to have at least 175 days during the school year to get full funding from the State School Fund. Days can be designated as professional development (flex), instruction and finals. This doesn't include summer or other short breaks.

In addition, the academic calendar should have at least 32 weeks This can include time for professional development and final exams. This rule is in place to make sure colleges follow the minimum time requirements as set out in California's rules (Title 5).

Think of 175 days as the number of lego pieces in the box; there are lots of ways those pieces can be configured and arranged.

source: Title 5: Article 1 and Student Attendance Accounting Manual

To be counted as a week of the primary term in determination of the census week, a week must include at least three weekdays of student instruction or examination (Saturday or Sunday instructional days are not usually counted towards this requirement; classes that do meet on Saturdays/Sundays are considered “secondary instructional days).

source: Student Attendance Accounting Manual

Semesters 16-18 weeks; Quarters, 11-12 weeks

We currently schedule 17-week, 15-week late start, 8-weeks, but basically you can schedule any number of weeks within a term. We have programs that run 8 week / 8 week accelerated cohorts. We have some courses that are 15 and 12 week schedules. The number of weeks in a class impacts how long in-person time blocks will be, but we can build any type of schedule within a term. 

source: Student Attendance Accounting Manual, Addendum, and SDCCD Calendar Nuts & Bolts Presentation

Yes. Title 5 describes a "college year," an "academic year," and an "intersession."

The term "academic year" is the period of time during which the college offers two primary terms of no less than 32 weeks and a 175 days of instruction and maintains its facilities, technologies, programs, and services that directly support students. 

The "academic year" does not account for intersessions; that is, a college district may offer summer and winter instruction, but the number of instructional days offered during these intersessions are considered additional.

The term "college year" (fiscal year) describes the general period for fiscal, logistical, and other general administrative operations. The "college year" begins on July 1st and ends on June 30th. 

source: Title 5: Article 1

What does this mean? 

It means a few things: 

1) There is time outside the "academic year" and within the "college year" for different divisional groups with specific charges and procedures to conduct important work, schedule events, and provide services; in other words, the "academic year" is not the sole determining factor of what can be done in a "college year." 

2) Changes made to the "academic year" requires all of the many programs and departments across MiraCosta--from academic departments to student services to operational divisions (like Facilities, ITS, and Human Resources)--to reconsider when they conduct and schedule their business to accommodate that time designated primarily for instruction and supporting students. 

3) Working conditions within the "college year," the "academic year," and "intersessions" are unique for all employee groups, and so contracts that establish working conditions must be honored and/or negotiated as changes to the calendar are considered.

Up until 1996, the 175 days of an academic year were scheduled within 35 weeks for California Community Colleges. Calendars that continue to have a 35 week academic year are referred to as “traditional,” and within these, there are two systems:

• In a semester system, there are two terms in a year, each lasting about 17.5 weeks.  

• In a quarter system, 35 weeks are divided into three quarters, each lasting approximately 11 2/3 weeks. 

source: Student Attendance Accounting Manual

Changes to Ed Code made in 1996 give colleges more freedom in how they schedule instructional days. By adopting a “compressed” calendar, colleges can count any day that includes at least three hours of instruction as part of the 175-Day Rule. This means that instructional days can include weekends, like Saturdays and Sundays. 

Because of this, colleges can have primary terms that are shorter than the traditional 17.5 weeks. Some colleges have transitioned from a 35-week academic year to a 32-week academic year, which typically consists of two 16-week primary terms.

Importantly, even with this compressed schedule, colleges commit to ensuring that students still receive the same amount of instruction as they did under the traditional 35-week academic year (classes are longer when operating in a compressed calendar vs a traditional calendar). So, the student's learning experience remains consistent.

source: Student Attendance Accounting Manual and Addendum

A flexible calendar allows colleges to make some adjustments to their schedules. While ensuring that they still meet the 175 day rule, the college may schedule at least 160 of these days as instructional with the remaining days scheduled for instructors to use flexibly. This time can be used for things like college events, supporting students, and professional development.

But, there's a limit. The time for these flexible activities can't be more than 8.57% of what instructors are supposed to teach in a year (excluding special sessions). The exact limit depends on how many flexible days the college approves. This time set aside for flexible activities is called "flexible time," or FLEX.

source: Student Attendance Accounting Manual and Addendum

A flexible-compressed calendar combines elements of flexibility and compression in the academic schedule. It includes some flexible days when instructors can use their time for meetings, helping students, or improving their teaching methods. Instead of the usual 35-week academic year, a flexible-compressed calendar might have a shorter year, often with two main terms, each lasting about 16 weeks. Of course, a flexible-compressed calendar will still maintain the 175-day rule.

Any course modality can be scheduled regardless of calendar type. What calendar format we adopt (traditional, quarter, compressed, etc.) will impact the in-person time blocks we create. However, we can build a schedule for any desired modality based on the selected calendar model. 

An obligation to complete professional development hours (FLEX) is tied to the calendar in two ways:

1. Faculty in districts that adopt a "flexible calendar"--where instructional days are replaced by "FLEX days"--are obligated to complete a number of "FLEX hours." In a district that does not adopt a flexible calendar, faculty are not obligated to complete professional development hours; instead, they are simply obligated to meet their contractual obligation of student contact and/or instructional hours. 

2. The number of day/hours designated for professional development depends how the calendar is configured. By adopting a flexible calendar,160 days out of the required 175 days must must used as instructional days (3 hours or more); the remaining days may be used as flexible time, up to 15 days of the academic year or 8.57% of an instructor’s contractual obligation for hours (student contact hours and/or instruction) in the academic year. 

source: Title 5: Article 8, ASCCC Guidelines, and CCCCO Resources   

Yes, FLEX days count as part of an instructional week as these days and hours replace instructional time. 

source: CCCCO Guidelines for Implementing a Flexible Calendar and Student Attendance Accounting Manual

At MiraCosta, both the full time and associate faculty unions--the Faculty Assembly and the MiraCosta College Academic Associate Faculty union--work with the district through negotiations to determine the FLEX obligation. Before any changes to the academic calendar can be implemented, both unions and the district will negotiate a new agreement with regards to working conditions issues such as obligations to complete FLEX hours. 

This means, even if we choose to adopt a traditional or compressed academic calendar that is not "flexible," we could still establish an obligation to complete professional development through contract negotiations. This would be complicated, but it is possible. 

We can schedule FLEX days anytime during the 175-days. 

source: ASCCC Guidelines and CCCCO Resources

Nope. FLEX can be moved, broken up by days and distributed.

Since the number of FLEX hours is decided through negotiation (can be as much as 8.57% of an instructor’s contractual obligation), the number of FLEX hours scheduled as days in the calendar can be different than the number of hours established in the contract. In short, it's up to us to determine how many days to schedule. 

Consider it this way: If at MiraCosta we reduce the number of scheduled FLEX days but agree through contract negotiations to maintain the number of FLEX hours in lieu of student contact hours, faculty would meet the hours that exceed the number of days in the schedule through the various methods and opportunities for professional development that PDP has approved.

Both credit instruction and noncredit instruction are required to follow the 175-day regulations. The noncredit calendar is required to follow the adopted college academic calendar. Noncredit mostly chooses to create dynamic schedule dates (8 week classes) within the traditional semester.

Some districts do have different credit/non-credit calendars. San Diego Community College District is one. There are tradeoffs in choosing to align or not align noncredit and credit calendars. Some problems students and faculty experience that emerge when one side of the house is in session and the other is not include issues with bridging non-credit students to credit programs and ensuring all faculty can access all campus events (like FLEX week).

There is no rule stated in Ed Code for when the "academic year"--a semester or quarter--must begin or end.

source: Title 5: Article 1 and Student Attendance Accounting Manual

Depending on how the class is scheduled, Monday and Thursday holidays create issues when you have multiple holidays in a term that fall on the same day of the week. For example, in the fall, when Veterans Day lands on a Thursday, there will be the loss of two Thursdays of instruction since Thanksgiving also lands on Thursdays. Many holidays fall on Monday or Friday intentionally to ensure there are three-day weekends, but that can result in an excessive loss of instructional hours. There isn’t much we can do about holidays except be mindful of the impacts as we are scheduling our classes. 

Certain legal holidays must be observed (such as Martin Luther King Day), while local holidays may be observed (such as the Friday after Thanksgiving day). Before a day can be designated as a local holiday, approval from the Chancellor’s Office is required. Whether or not the decision is approved, the decision to observe a local holiday can create issues, especially for taking attendance for classes that meet regularly each week. 

For example, making the Wednesday before Thanksgiving a holiday would disrupt the procedures used to count attendance for classes that meet regularly on Wednesdays (called the "weekly census procedure"). In addition, holding classes only on the Monday and Tuesday of Thanksgiving week would break the rules that define what counts as an academic week. Since three instructional days are needed to count as one week in an academic calendar, if Wednesday of Thanksgiving week were deemed a holiday, that week would only have two instructional days (Monday and Tuesday), which means it couldn’t count as a full week. To make up that week, we would have to adjust other features of our calendar.

So, if we took the week of Thanksgiving off, what would that look like in our calendar? 

Within our current, 18-week fall semester (1 week FLEX, 16 weeks instruction, 1 week Finals), we would need to begin the semester one week sooner in August to accommodate a full fall break during the week of Thanksgiving. Other options are possible if we compress our calendar. If we, say, reduce the semester by 1 week, we could observe a fall break week, and the term would still start and end when we begin and end the fall semester now. Alternatively, Monday-Wednesday of Thanksgiving week could be designated as FLEX days, and the length of FLEX week at the beginning of the semester could be adjusted accordingly.  

source: Chapter 8: Article 3, Student Attendance Accounting Manual and SDCCD Calendar Nuts & Bolts Presentation

Nope. 

The academic calendar must include at least 32 weeks of instruction (inclusive of days of final examination) during the primary terms of the academic year.

Days of final examination may be counted toward meeting the 175-day requirements of California Code of Regulations, Title 5, section 58142, provided that the following: 

1. Such examinations are administered under the immediate supervision and control of an appropriately qualified instructor who is an employee of the district; and 

2. Not more than fourteen days of final examinations are counted for any academic year.

TL;DR: Final exam weeks count toward the 175-day total. If we don’t have finals, those days would be reclassified as regular instructional days. You can still administer a final during a regular instructional day.

Wait, what does TL;DR mean?

TL;DR stands for "too long, didn't read." An internet shorthand for "if you cant be bothered to read the whole explanation, here's the short version"

source: Title 5 58120(b) and Student Attendance Accounting Manual

Here's the list:

MiraCosta - yes

Grossmont-Cuyamaca - no

Southwestern - yes

SDCCC (City-Mesa-MiraMar) - no

Palomar - no

Check out all local, regional, and statewide calendars in practice on our Calendars page

This would be very challenging, but it is not impossible. Academic calendars are a bargaining item, as they reflect workload conditions. This means that every different district would need to bargain their calendars with their respective employee groups. An additional challenge: K-12 districts are funded differently than community colleges. They must figure out their ADA (average daily attendance) which has time and reporting requirements that are different from community colleges. It would take significant planning and agreement among the three K-12 districts in our service area and would take years to bargain the impacts. 

Check out all local K-12 and regional college/university calendars on our Calendars page

It would be possible to align MiraCosta’s calendar to our local community college partners, like Palomar, provided we are all using the same number of weeks, instructional days, and FLEX days. As with K-12, calendars are bargained, so this would take significant planning across our CCC institutions in the region. Regarding CSU and UC, they follow a system-directed calendar. CSUs mostly follow a semester system and UCs (excepting UC Berkeley) follow a quarter system, so alignment with both would be nearly impossible. 

Check out all local K-12 and regional college/university calendars on our Calendars page

Summer and winter are considered intersessions, and not considered part of the 175-day requirement. These instructional sessions are at the discretion of the district and subject to budget, collective bargaining, etc.

Generally speaking, full time for financial aid purposes is twelve units or more for semesters and 9 units or more for quarters regardless of the calendar type (flexible or compressed). 

Federal Student Aid (FSA) Handbook, Volume 1, Chapter 1 

Generally speaking, the academic calendar will have minimal effect on how and when students receive financial aid payments. One factor linked directly to the calendar is that financial aid is based on units enrolled at the full-semester add/drop deadline (the end of the second week of the semester). This pertains to all courses, including late start courses. Any courses added after that date cannot be counted toward financial aid eligibility.

Federal Student Aid (FSA) Handbook Volume 7, Chapter 7 

answer coming soon!

Above is a table outlining the variable features of an academic calendar, and below are questions and value statements derived from the Values and Impacts Survey designed to reveal downstream impacts. As the Taskforce reviews different calendar features and models new calendar prototypes, we apply these criteria to guide a process of discovery and decision-making. 

Weeks of Instruction

What is the number of weeks of instruction (16-18) that increases the college’s ability to:

1. 1. 1. Configure course schedules for completion of degree, program, and transfer

      2. Facilitate learning

      3. Retain students within a semester

What data can other institutions share that show the impacts of a term length?

Finals Week: Yes or No

What is the pedagogical assessment value of a 2 hour final exam? 

What is the pedagogical assessment value of ending a term with a week of instruction? 

What alternatives have been explored and rejected by discipline experts, classroom practitioners? 

Which students completing a degree, program, and/or transferring benefit from a 2-hour final scheduled during a designated finals week?

Number of FLEX Days / FLEX Schedule

How many FLEX days should we schedule and when should we schedule FLEX days in order to:

• • • increase participation (credit, non-credit, classified, admin)…

    • increase the quality of professional learning and applied value to our jobs

Holidays

How do holidays impact the 175-day rule?

How do holidays and breaks impact programs, learning, and retention?

• Mondays and Fridays

• Spring and Fall Break

How do “observed” holidays affect Saturday courses?

Whose holidays are observed? What equitable practices can we adopt to honor and respect a plurality of sacred and/or special days?

Schedule Blocks

As the number of instructional weeks change, how does the length of class meetings and schedule blocks change (term length modifier conditions)? 

What programs will be impacted by longer class blocks (gains and losses)?

How do class meeting times

• Comply with ed code

• support learning

• retain students

Can we block time for a designated college hour?

Accelerated and Late-start Intrasessions

Does the model align with non-credit 8-week intrasessions? 

To what extent can non-credit programs adjust to align?

When does the type (length) and variety of intrasession terms interrupt:

1. Program & degree completion + transfer

2. Facilitation of learning

3. Student retention

Term Start and End Dats

To what extent can the start dates of terms (semester, accelerated, late-start, and intersessions) increase enrollments and support learning? 

To what extent can we align start/end dates with local institutions of education?

Interssessions and Campus Resets

Does the term length create or limits the possibility of intersessions?

Which departments would opt in to interssion terms?

When will departments reset critical campus infrastructure?

• SURF

• Facilities

• Tutoring (hiring, training, services)

• Canvas

• ITS

• Student Services