One of the primary dreads of students regardless of their class year or major is slotting an 8 a.m. class into your schedule. However, Blue Streaks may be reprieved of this worry come fall 2024 as a new class time block schedule was released, even if it is only for just an extra five minutes of shut-eye.

Gabriella Wanless, the assistant registrar for Catalog and Scheduling, told The Carroll News that active discussions for this switch started in 2021 with a focus on what she described as the John Carroll student experience.

“It is important that students’ schedules are as free from potential conflicts as possible and that classroom availability and utilization are maximized,” Wanless stated.

Wanless is not wrong to think that students would prefer a later start time. A study from Times Higher Education says that at least a third of students will miss their 8 a.m. classes. This poor attendance combined with the drowsiness of an early start can heavily impact a student’s performance in the course. Joshua Gooley, an associate professor of neuroscience and behavioral disorders at the Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore, says that “early morning classes likely impair learning due to effects on presenteeism.”

So, how is John Carroll tackling this morning struggle? As reflected in an official document released by the university’s registrar, the earliest a class on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays can start is at 8:30 a.m. Keeping within the 50-minute time limit for these three-day-per-week courses, all classes until the 3 p.m. block will start halfway through the hour rather than at the top of the clock like students are used to. However, there is a block for 6:30 – 7:20 p.m. classes that takes on this new structure past the schedule’s faculty-designated meeting time.

Those with a class that is only held on Mondays and Wednesdays could still have to wake up a little earlier as these courses can start promptly at 8:05 a.m. and last until 9:20 a.m. A new MW time slot was also added for 75-minute courses from 1:30 to 2:45 pm.

Classes held on Tuesdays and Thursdays also appear slightly altered with the earliest, three-credit course blocks again being 8:30 a.m. and lasting the full hour and a quarter until 9:45 a.m. With all classes, there is a 10-minute grace period in between blocks to ensure that students reach their classrooms even when their schedule is packed to the brim.

While it is yet to be seen how this change will impact student scheduling and performance overall, the chairs of John Carroll Student Government’s Academic Affairs Committee, Abby Walker ‘27 and Lauren Hoffman ‘25, have great hopes for the convenience this alteration will bring.

“It sounds like this change will be very beneficial to students, especially when scheduling, because it opens up more class availability in the middle of the day,” they told The Carroll News.

The class docket for fall 2024 will be available for viewing on Mar. 11, 2024 via this link. Students can then register for their chosen courses during their designated time period which they can view at the top of their banner profile.