As students prepare to leave the University campus for winter break, many are looking forward to the three weeks during which they will be unencumbered by coursework, club listservs and campus jobs. However, too often the long stretch over winter break devolves into an unproductive period.

To help students better utilize this period of time, the University can adopt winter sessions of study, more colloquially known at other universities as a January term. By incorporating this optional abbreviated academic semester into the University's curriculum, students will have an additional opportunity to earn credits, study abroad and complete their courses of study.
A January term is a concentrated period of study prior to the start of the spring semester that is utilized by students at other universities for a number of reasons. The January term could function as an extended form of the existing Justice Brandeis Semester over the winter break. Whether students want to accumulate credits to graduate early or catch up on their major's requirements in order to graduate on time, a January term session at Brandeis would provide students the flexibility to potentially complete a number of courses in a short period of time.

While we understand the economic burden the University would have to undertake to hire professors and employees and to maintain campus facilities for an extended three weeks after the conclusion of the fall semester, there would also likely be a demand for these courses. Students that have studied abroad recently, were on medical leave or generally unable to complete their course requirements would find an extra three weeks of study a worthwhile alternative to not graduating with their class.

Aside from satisfying requirements, Brandeis could also include intensive courses or research seminars of interest that may not be available during the year. Given this demand, the January term would also serve as a source of revenue for the University to compensate for the costs of implementing the program.

Further, the University should consider using this winter session as a study abroad opportunity, as do the University of New Hampshire and New York University. Currently, the UNH offers a politics course in Costa Rica, a class looking at plant ecology in the West Indies and a Classics course in Rome, among other opportunities. Perhaps the University could offer the Brandeis in the Hague program currently in place for the summer and spring semester during this January term. Students who may not have been able to afford to take an entire semester abroad, could still have a similarly enriching experience over their winter break.

Moreover, as the University has recently joined a consortium of other schools in the "Semester Online" initiative, it could consider providing these courses during the January term. Other universities in the consortium would also likely have to participate in the winter session and have a demand for those courses. Washington University in St. Louis, one of the ten schools in the consortium, has a January term for its Engineering program. As the initiative is still in the early stages, we hope the University will consider incorporating these online courses into the January term to further expand on the nontraditional learning opportunities available to students.

While we understand this initiative will not be able to be put into effect immediately, other universities like Middlebury College and the University of Maryland have recognized the benefit of the initiative to students. A January term at Brandeis would provide students more convenience and flexibility in their course load than what is currently being provided by the University.  
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