This policy is adopted by the University as a result of conflicts that have arisen over the years, including in the fall of 2006, between fall residence hall move-in days and the Jewish High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
- In setting the common academic calendar after 2010, the responsible University bodies — the Registrars, the Academic Senate (both campus Divisions and the Academic Council), Office of the President staff and campus calendar committees — shall choose calendars (semester and quarter) that avoid scheduling fall residence hall move-in days for students that conflict with the observance of a major religious holiday. Exceptions are to be made only if there are overriding academic or administrative considerations that would make such a calendar unworkable. The University will develop written guidelines to delineate such considerations. For example, these might include the need to complete the required minimum number of instructional days and the need to finish summer quarter before the move-in dates.
The University shall provide written reports on its progress in developing the written guidelines to the Senate Education Committee and the Assembly Higher Education Committee on September 1, 2007 and March 1, 2008. The University shall complete development of the written guidelines no later than June 1, 2008, and shall provide the written guidelines to the Senate Education Committee and to the Assembly Higher Education Committee upon completion of the guidelines. - In those exceptional cases where the University adopts a calendar that would create a conflict between observance of a major religious holiday and residence hall move-in dates for new students, the campuses shall abide by the following guidelines:
a. At some campuses, residence hall move-in of all students is accomplished on a single day of a weekend. Those campuses shall choose the weekend day that does not conflict with either observance of a one-day religious holiday or the first day of a multi-day religious holiday.
b. For campuses that have multiple move-in days including both days of the weekend, students who observe the holidays shall be given the opportunity to move in on the day that does not conflict with either a one-day religious holiday or the first day of a multi-day religious holiday. In addition, those students shall be given the opportunity to move in with a substantial portion (1/4 or more) of the other members of their housing unit and shall be provided with an equivalent set of community-wide social and orientation activities. For example, a campus that otherwise moves students in over two days by opening different residence halls might instead move in half the students in each residence hall over the two days. Or, for example, a large campus might move in all of its students over a number of days, but not schedule community-wide social and orientation activities until all students are given the opportunity to occupy their University housing.
c. All campuses will also offer alternative move-in days for students who for religious reasons do not want to move in on either Saturday or Sunday or for whom the arrangements described above do not enable them to comply with their religious obligations. At least one of the alternative days shall be before the beginning of the weekend (i.e., “early move-in”). - All materials/literature addressing student move-in procedures should be updated to clearly communicate that should move-in dates conflict with observances of religious holidays, accommodations will be made for affected students. The process for those affected should be described and/or a specific point of contact provided.
- A student should not be penalized financially for not moving into University facilities on "move-in day" should the day/time conflict with observance of a religious holiday by that student.
- The University shall immediately implement the policies set forth in Sections 3, 4 and 5 herein.
