New Block Schedule Receives Mixed Reviews

When Lang students returned to The New School two weeks ago for the new academic semester, they were greeted by what many saw as a peculiarity in their schedules — classes no longer began at the top of the hour, but rather five or ten minutes before the hour.
The New School had finally implemented its new, long discussed ‘block schedule.’ Meant to remedy scheduling issues between the university’s seven academic divisions, the new schedule has been subject to both praise and criticism by New School students and faculty.

In the past, New School students experienced scheduling limitations due to conflicting class times throughout the university. With the new class schedule, Lang students can now take courses in other divisions and vice versa.

“As the news gets out, there will be relief that one doesn’t have to choose between two courses that overlap only for 10 minutes,” said Lang Dean Stephanie Browner. “I know it is having an impact because I advise students, and they have been pleased with the new schedule alignment.”

BA/BFA students like Brooke Taylor, a fine arts and psychology major, appreciate the flexibility the new block schedule provides them. “It was hard to register for classes at Lang that fit into a schedule with Parsons before,” Taylor said. “Now my schedule is good, and I feel like I have better intervals between classes.”

“It seems like Parsons students have more flexibility in their schedules, longer breaks between their classes, which I expect is a real benefit for them in addition to having easier access to Lang courses,” said Lang associate dean Kathleen Breidenbach.

The new schedule has also gone over well with some professors, who recognize the potential benefits it brings to students.

“As someone who teaches a university lecture course, with many students from different divisions, the new block schedule would seem to ease their planning and make for a more coherent schedule,” said Howard Steele, associate professor of psychology at The New School for Social Research.

However, a number of students who are not taking classes in other divisions have expressed dislike for the new class times. The longer breaks and later classes have become a point of discontent among some students and faculty.

“Just on the basis of the last two weeks, the schedule change lengthens the already long Parsons day for most students, so they’re even more exhausted as the class winds down, with no compensating advantage,” said Arnold Klein, professor at The School of Art and Design History and Theory at Parsons.

“I guess the main reason I hate the new schedule is because it pushes the night class to 9:40, which is really late,” said Parsons student Waynu Chen. “If there’s a class before, I always have this awkward hour.”

But Browner stood by the new schedule, adding that it was the result of much work by the administration to provide students with more options in pursuing their studies at the university.

“Changing class schedules may seem a minor matter but daily calendars have an impact on many people and their work, and so this change required significant collaboration across the divisions,” she said.