Wellbeing Wednesdays

The new academic schedule will benefit students. A weekly rhythm that opens Wednesdays will create significant opportunities for internships, for a better pace of courses, for academic support, for innovative field experience and field trips, and for overall well-being.

The new weekly rhythm is designed to support student flourishing. We hope it feels better.

• There will almost always be at least two days between courses. Monday courses will meet again on Thursday. Tuesday courses will meet again on Friday.
• There will be more time for projects, for collaboration with peers, and for academic support.
• There will no longer be a five-day (!) gap between Thursday and Tuesday classes, or a quick turnaround between Friday and Monday classes.

All first-year students will have their FDN 101: Thrive class on Wednesday mornings for the first 8 weeks of the fall semester. There will be other courses such as BUAD 310, 1871 Immersion, that will take advantage of the day. Beyond this, Wednesdays will be largely free of courses.

In general, nothing will be required of you between 9 am and 2 pm on Wednesdays, with some exceptions.

You may have a field trip on Wednesdays – you’ll find this out in your syllabi. Student teachers will still intern at their placement sites. Nursing students may still have clinical rotations on Wednesdays, depending on hospital scheduling. Student leadership groups, clubs and orgs may have Wednesday meetings. Sports teams will still have competitions.

Otherwise, between 9 am and 2 pm, what you do is up to you to opt in.

Four-year students will have 120 Wednesdays in four years. Here are some ideas:
Explore your calling

• Sign up for early job shadowing or field placement.
• Pursue micro-internships on Wednesdays through Trinity’s network or through Chicago Semester.
• Take advantage of Trinity’s growing network of college-student-schedule-friendly employers to find flexible ways to earn income.
• Serve as a student leader and collaborate with other student leaders.

Engage your city

• Participate in field trips.
• Explore Chicago’s vibrant art and museum scene.
• Spend the day working at 1871, Trinity’s partner and the world’s largest university-linked tech incubator.
• Consider volunteering at local non-profits.

Pursue academic success

• Use the time to stay on top of projects and coursework.
• Take advantage of increased opportunities for academic support.
• Use the easy-to-schedule time for group projects or group study sessions.

Take care of your well-being

• Get some rest.
• Get outside and explore the networks of walking/running/biking trails around Trinity.
• Exercise!

Trinity is taking several steps to support you in this new opportunity:

• Academic support opportunities will be designed to serve students on Wednesdays.
• Innovative field trips and learning journeys will be held on Wednesdays that take your education beyond the classroom and into our neighborhoods and city.
• Educational, developmental, social, and emotional well-being opportunities will be available.
• Trinity is building a network of paid internships and employment opportunities (with student schedules in mind) that will make it easy to pursue your calling, earn money for college, and build hands on experience for your resume.

Our gathered chapel worship and the community time following worship are central to our campus life! Chapel will shift from Wednesday and Friday to the Tuesday/Friday cycle. We will still meet for chapel twice a week. All campus offices will close during chapel.

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