The University of Miami is a relatively compact campus, but the late-summer rainstorms and 100 degree days may leave students dreading the distance between classes. Now, students face a time constraint as they race the newly reinstated 15-minute period between classes.
When UM’s campus re-opened to students in Fall 2020, students were given 25-minute periods between each class. The move was intended to allow professors to record lectures for students unable to attend the physical classroom.
UM returned to its standard 15-minute period between classes for the 2022-2023 school year and foreseeable future. The move is a departure from a COVID-19 era policy designed to help professors accommodate their students in quarantine and isolation.
“I feel like 15 minutes is a good time,” freshman exercise physiology major Molly Conn said. “Our campus isn’t too big so I feel like it’s easy to walk from one place to another within 15 minutes.”
Conn’s furthest walk is the distance between the Cox Science Building and the Dooly Memorial Classroom Building, a five-minute journey.
UM’s Coral Gables campus encompasses 113 buildings spread over 293 acres. While most walks are manageable, some span farther than a 15 minute walk.
For Dylan Hasler, a freshman architecture major, the distance between the School of Architecture and Allen Hall, the location of her farthest away class, is nearly 20 minutes.
“Even if you can get there, sometimes it’s nice to be able to not,” Hasler said.
Sofia Jerome, a sophomore studying nursing, prefers her classes be back-to-back, even with the shortened time between classes, as she lives off campus and enjoys going to and from campus just once a day instead of having to come and go multiple times throughout the day.
“I would rather not have to wait in the library or around campus in between classes,” Jerome said.
Jerome does not have any trouble getting to her classes. Even so, she thinks having more time between classes would be a positive change.
Although their schedules allow enough time to get to their classes, Hasler and Jerome think more than fifteen minutes is necessary for students to have the chance to readjust and get in the proper mindset for their next class.