It’s the time of year where many schools, such as the University of Alberta and MacEwan University, have up to a week-long break. Many post-secondary institutions give students a break each semester, however, NAIT only provides a break for students in the winter semester. There are many staff and students who believe a fall break should be in place, such as NAITSA member Brenda Needham, who says it’s the first thing she brings up in meetings.
“I believe it affects the students well-being. So actually it’s one of my goals to advocate for.”
And although the idea of a fall break is commonly discussed, there are no set plans to put a break in place. NAIT officials say it’s harder than many may think, as there are many aspects to be considered. NAIT says they need to consider student loans, funding, scheduling and staffing, but they do have a group in place to look at different options to find what will work best.
There are some NAIT staff and students who think it’s good that there is not a fall break. NAIT instructor Stuart Serediuk believes a break in the fall semester would affect the learning of students.
“It stops the momentum of the learning that’s taking place. Then when students get back it takes a while for them to get back up to speed. I mean we have a hard enough time when we come back in September and students generally have forgotten a lot of things from the spring because they just had four months off.”
There are many mixed emotions around the topic of a fall break, and it’s important that all opinions are heard. Students can talk to NAITSA representatives, such as Brenda Needham the VP Academic, and express whether or not they believe a fall break would be a good idea. The NAITSA office is located in room E-131, or they can email NAITSA at asknaitsa@nait.ca
