After three years of 30-minute passing times between classes, Duke has reverted to 20 or 25 minutes between classes, the University’s pre-COVID-19 pandemic schedule.
The decrease in time between classes allows for one additional period to be incorporated into the daily schedule to reduce scheduling constraints, according to Frank Blalark, associate vice provost and university registrar.
However, students say that this schedule presents unique difficulties in making it to classes across campus on time, while some professors are adapting to help their students out.
Senior Emma Balber has 25 minutes to go from a class in the Sanford School of Public Policy to another class over a mile away in Trent Hall. Due to limited available transportation between these buildings, Balber struggles to get to her next class with enough time to spare.
“If the prior classes get out late, it's pretty difficult to get to my class after,” she said. “There's not even parking spaces there, really. I think you either have to pay or there's no bus, so it really is quite the crunch for time.”
This change is especially noticeable for students who are used to 30 minutes between classes.
“I know that people that are in my year have had the 30-minute passing time since they were [first-years], so it's definitely been difficult adjusting to the new schedule,” Balber said.
First-year Mackenzie Hoey ends up sitting in the back of her ECON 101, Economic Principles, lecture on days when she has a writing class on East Campus 25 minutes after the lecture ends. As soon as the lecture ends, she rushes to the C1 bus to try to make her next class.
“The 20 or 25-minute window between classes puts an unnecessary burden on students and has begun to interfere with my learning experience,” Hoey said.
First-year Nikki Zeas finds herself rushing back and forth from West Campus’ Science Drive to East Campus’ Art Building, as three of her classes are back-to-back.
A few weeks into the semester, Zeas accepted that she wouldn’t make it to these classes on time.
“I miss instructions at the beginning, and then I have to interrupt other people who are working to catch up. For my discussion section for math, I always miss [the professor] going over the topics we've been going over in class, so I'm not able to learn them again,” Zeas said.
Nayoung Aimee Kwon, associate professor in the department of Asian and Middle Eastern studies, found the passing time to be such a hindrance to her students that she shifted the starting time of her class to allow students to arrive on time. Instead of a 4:40 p.m. start on Wednesdays and Fridays, her class starts at 4:50 p.m.
The challenge of shorter classes is amplified by the AMES department’s location, which she described as “a far-flung corner off campus, near the hospital.”
“I would not have been able to do so if any one of them had a conflict with the change, and with over 20 students, I was quite lucky to be able to do this for the class,” Kwon wrote.
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Madera Longstreet-Lipson is a Trinity sophomore and an associate news editor for the news department.