Most students fill their shopping carts and schedules with courses that meet during the morning and afternoon. But for a smaller group of students, classes continue after the sun sets.
This semester, the University is offering nine courses that meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6:40-8 p.m. These courses span a variety of subjects, including anthropology, comparative literature, computer science, economics and engineering.
These later class times have been “on the books for a long time,” said Dean of the College Maud Mandel, adding that they were originally introduced to give faculty members and students some additional flexibility by not having “courses consolidated all at the same time.”
Student reviews of classes in late time slots are mixed, and some students expressed concern that they conflict with other commitments or extracurriculars.
“On Mondays I have class until 7:20 p.m., but I have a weekly meeting for the film festival I’m involved with starting at 7 p.m.,” said Blake Nosratian ’17. “It puts me in an awkward situation where I either have to leave class early or miss part of my meeting.”
Bebe Bischoff ’18 is currently enrolled in ANTH 1720: “The Human Skeleton,” which meets at 6:40 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. “My overall experience with the class has been amazing, but that is only because the course would be worth any time period,” she said. “I think the time itself is horrible.”
“I frequently cannot go to things like lectures and review sessions and film screenings because of the timing conflict,” Bischoff added. “It is definitely not ideal, but in my opinion my class is worth it, and I make it work.”
But other students said the late class time allows them a full day to prepare for class.
“It helps with the preparatory work you need to do for the classes,” said Alessandro Borghese ’19, who is taking the first-year seminar HIST 0522N: “Reason, Revolution and Reaction in Europe” at 6:40 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. “You have a full day, or at least a part of it, to do the work for the class, which is often preparatory reading. This way of approaching work makes the information more fresh in your mind when you come to discuss it.”
Andrew Scherer, assistant professor of anthropology and archeology, is currently teaching “The Human Skeleton.”
“I picked this time for my class in part to accommodate my schedule and in part to ensure that the anthropology department was offering courses at a diversity of times,” Scherer said. “This was also a bit of an experiment to see how students would react to having it taught at this time.”
Since the course was introduced in fall 2011, it has been taught “at pretty much any time” throughout the morning and afternoon in different years, he said. He added that while he has taught graduate classes later in the day before, this marks the first semester he has done so for undergraduate students.
Scherer said he has not noticed any drop in student enrollment. The course is capped at 20 students and remains “popular,” he said, adding, “I always end up with around 25 students in the target register, and there’s also a waitlist of around 40 other students.”
But Joan Richards, professor of history, said the late time slot of “Reason, Revolution and Reaction in Europe” conflicts with her personal commitments.
“It’s horrible because I can’t go home for dinner,” Richards said. “I’m happiest teaching in the afternoon. One to 2:30 p.m. is perfect, but if I can’t get that time, then I’m willing to make the ultimate sacrifice to my family and say, ‘Okay, I won’t have dinner with you twice a week.’”
Richards said her first priority is classroom space. “I could see that if I were in a regular time, I’d be fighting for space in ways that I am tired of,” she said. Though the later time slot did not aid her search for a larger classroom, she has observed that students are more alert during the evening.
Neither Richards nor Scherer saw the time slot as an issue for student-athletes, as their practice times are dispersed throughout the day.
“The last time I taught at this time two years ago, I had several athletes who came right from practice with dinner, and that was fine,” Richards said.
Ultimately, Scherer said it is less difficult to engage students late at night than right before the upcoming weekend. “The one block of time I try to avoid is Friday afternoons, because no one likes being in a classroom on a Friday afternoon,” he said.
