After 10 years in the works, students at the University of Ottawa were granted a fall reading week in a motion passed Dec. 7.

U of O vice-president (university affairs) Ted Horton said he’s “very proud of the work on this proposal — it will directly improve the lives of our students. From more academic preparation time for exams and final assignments, to less student stress, it’s a terrific improvement and I’m pleased to be able to bring this change for students.” 

The move has many Carleton students wondering if their university will follow suit.

While students always had a week in February to catch up on readings and study for midterms, such a break has never been granted for the fall term.

Benefits of a fall reading week include reduced stress and anxiety, a chance for students to visit family, and more time to prepare for exams, Horton said. A fall reading week would also help students with exams scheduled as late as Dec. 23, as it would give them more time to travel home for the holidays.

“The [Student Foundation of the University of Ottawa] has been working on and off on the issue for years,” Horton said.

One major milestone took place in 2006 when a student referendum indicated strong support for a fall reading week, Horton said.

Julien de Bellefeuille, former SFUO vice-president, fit this extra week into the school calendar, but his proposal was not supported by the University of Ottawa administration. 

In a Nov. 12 meeting, Horton and registrar Eric Bercier presented the proposal to the Council of Undergraduate Studies and it was endorsed by the faculties and passed less than a month later. 

Fall reading week has been a controversial issue at many schools across Ontario. Votes at Queen’s University in 2007 and at Ryerson University in 2008 rejected the proposal, mainly because it did not fit in with the rest of the course calendar.

York University implemented its first fall reading week this year, and Trent University and Nippising University have also added a break during the fall term. 

Horton said part of making this reading week a reality involved comparing the number of class days and exam periods with other universities.

“Whether or not they or we have a fall reading week, we need to maintain the number of class and exam days,” Horton said.

“With the new proposal we still remain one of the universities with the highest number of course days and one of the longest exam periods,” he said. 

This means that Carleton might still be able to add an extra week to the fall semester.

“It’s just a matter of research and work,” Horton said. “It requires adjustments to the academic calendar and diligent work to resolve the conflicts that the new reading week will cause, but with co-operation and effort on the part of the administration and [Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA)], I’m sure that Carleton will be able to have a similar program in the future.”

“CUSA was really pushing for it. A referendum was passed with a pretty big majority a few years ago,” said Nick Bergamini, CUSA vice-president (student issues).

That referendum in 2007 saw 76 per cent of more than 3,000 students vote in favour of a fall reading week.

Bergamini said university administration denied the request.

“That was in 2007 and the institution has evolved since then. We are willing to look at [a fall reading week] with fresh eyes,” Jason MacDonald, director of university communications at Carleton, said.

“I know that the university is going to look at it and see if it makes sense for Carleton.”