Summer break extended; fall semester starts Aug. 24

Liberty University students will get one extra week to soak up the sun this summer, as school administration recently announced that the Fall 2009 semester and classes will begin Monday, Aug. 24 — one week later than previously planned.

The semester will end Dec. 18, with spring semester beginning on schedule — Monday, Jan. 18, 2010. (View the revised University Calendar 2009-10 online.)

Chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr. said the change will better accommodate students and faculty.

“Last fall, we decided to shift the school year one week later for various reasons. The spring calendar was changed but I learned recently that the fall calendar was left unchanged,” he said. “This created a five-week Christmas break and an abbreviated summer break. Since many students have jobs and internships during the summer but not over Christmas break, we decided to allow one extra week this summer for students to work, earn a little extra money in this tough economy and gain a little more on-the-job experience.”

Students will now have a four-week break for Christmas vacation, and spring break is planned for March 15-19.
He said the new schedule was last used by Liberty University during the 2006-07 academic year.

Liberty Registrar Larry Shackleton said the change will help around the holidays, too. Students and faculty returning from Thanksgiving break have typically only had a couple days of classes before final exams start; now they will have a whole week of classes and ample time to prepare for exams.

More details on the date change will be communicated to faculty, staff and new and returning students later in the week.

These changes also affect starting dates for Liberty University Online sessions. View the revised schedule here.