7 a.m. classes signal space crisis

The school of business and economics (SBE) at Wilfrid Laurier University is going to be torturing their first-year students with 7 a.m. classes this September, and it could’ve been worse if some students chose the potential Saturday option.

Yes, you read that right. Some students will have 7 a.m. classes. And some of them could’ve possibly had Saturday classes, too. That would be outright absurd.
Saturday classes could limit the ability for a student to go home for a weekend or even make their schedule, especially if they have a part-time job, more unfeasible.
It’s no secret that students’ brains don’t start functioning until at least 10 a.m., and the idea of a student waking up at 6:55 a.m. at the latest to attend a class is unfathomable. So why put them through such pain?

While the SBE faculty isn’t fond of the idea themselves, they have to commit this necessary evil for at least one year to move the first required accounting course from second to first-year. They stress that there was no other way.

Space is extremely limited on campus and this is another explicit reminder that Laurier’s enrolment is outpacing its physical growth. There could’ve been a better way to get these students in a different classroom at a time other than 7 a.m. How about more classes in the evening instead or how about using extra university rooms that aren’t classrooms?

This is also a glaring indication that Laurier has to start thinking about short-term space options for students. It also can’t rely on the Global Innovation Exchange (GIE) building once it comes in 2015, as that’s way too late.

Regardless, these students are stuck with a dreaded 7 a.m. class, earlier than any other class they’ve ever had before. As a result, the SBE faculty must be lenient on attendance records – they’d be lucky to get even a quarter of the class to show up – and must have materials online to help a student if they missed a class.

In the most preferred setting, the class should act like it is half “online” so students can still get a decent grade if they don’t show up regularly. The professors should also hold extra office hours during the day so students can seek more assistance.

So don’t take attendance for this 7 a.m. class, and most certainly don’t get upset if students don’t show up. Because we all know most of them probably won’t.