Purpose:

To establish a policy to meet both student and instructor needs for breaks during and between classes.

Revision Responsibility: Registrar

Responsible Executive Office: Dean of Nursing

Created: July 7, 2014

Policy:

I. Breaks during class

Students will receive 10 minutes of break time per 50 minutes of classroom instruction.

The following conditions apply to the in-class breaks:

• In-class break times are determined by instructors.
• Instructors will adhere to the 10 minutes of break time per 50 minutes of classroom instruction.
• Flexibility with the timing of breaks is given to instructors due to testing, exams, quizzes, in-class presentations, guest speakers, in-class activities, and other activities which may require instructors’ discretion for break intervals, so as not to interrupt class activities.
• In-class breaks cannot be “banked” to let students out of class early and/or to start class later than the scheduled time (i.e., not taking any breaks during a four-hour class so students may leave 40 minutes early).

II. Breaks in between classes

• Students will receive a minimum of 30 minutes of break time in between classes which are more than two hours in length.
• The 30 minutes of break time will be in addition to 30 or 60 minute breaks built into longer classes, if students are required to take a second class or lab after a longer class.
• Instructors will receive a minimum of 60 minutes of break time in between classes and/or labs greater than 2 hours, should they teach more than one class in single day.
• Students picking up classes ahead of sequence should check their schedule before adding a class to make sure they are receiving a break each class day which is appropriate to their needs.
• Students will be given a 60 minute break between classes when both courses are longer than 3 hours.

III. Time limit on students’ hours at Platt in a single day.

Students’ time at Platt each day, including classroom time and breaks, is not to be scheduled to exceed ten (10) consecutive hours per day during class days.  Should scheduling issues arise due to lab space, instructor availability, or other issues, the schedule for a certain day may exceed ten hours with approval from the Dean of Nursing.

Should a student choose to take an extra class ahead of time out of sequence, their schedule may exceed ten (10) hours in a single day. 

Should a student fall out of sequence due to failing a class, withdrawing from a class, or other reasons, and need to make the course up during a quarter which one or more of their classroom days would exceed ten hours, the student will need to obtain approval to take the course from the Dean of Nursing.

IV. Time limit on instructors’ hours at Platt in a single day.

Instructors’ classroom teaching time at Platt each day, not including breaks, is not to be scheduled to exceed eight (8) total hours per day during class days.  Should scheduling issues arise due to lab space, instructor availability, or other issues, the schedule for a certain day may exceed eight hours with approval from the Dean of Nursing.

This policy does not apply to clinical days.