Within two years, a new academic calendar providing for fall semester exams before winter break could be in place, the registrar of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences said during a panel discussion at the Kennedy School of Government last night.

The panel, co-sponsored by the Harvard Political Union (HPU) and the Undergraduate Council, discussed the pros and cons of a new calendar approved by the council earlier this month. About 40 people were in the audience.

The calendar, which also grants four weeks of winter break (please see graphic, left), is currently being considered by the Committee for Undergraduate Education (CUE) for possible submission to the Faculty Council.

The registrar, Georgene B. Herschbach said she thinks the College's schedule is likely to to change.

"The Undergraduate Council has, I think, been successful in making modest calendar reform," she said.

"No single calendar will be perect," Herschbach added. "But I have a feeling that [the College] is moveing towards an early semester."

Herschbach said that with Faculty Council approval, the new calendar could be implemented in as little as two years.

Herschbach also said that only 52 schools have retained a traditional calendar with exams following winter break, while 3,600 have moved exams before the vacation.

Professor of Classics and History Christopher P. Jones, a CUE member, said that while the proposed calendar has many advantages, it is far from, perfect.

For example, starting the academic year earliermeans starting the training of Teaching Fellows(TFs) before Labor Day, Jones said. And since manyTFs have young families, they could have troublefinding child care.

"I understand the desire for a carefreeChristmas, but you have to give [them] a carefreesummer," Jones said.

Jones also noted that the relaxing winter breakfor students might not be so enjoyable for theirteachers.

He pointed out that under current rules, finalgrades must be handed in within seven days of thefinal exam. This would leave teachers with "astack of papers on Christmas Eve," he said.

But Jones noted that the Faculty sees quite afew positive aspects to the calendar.

"I don't know anyone with a problem with thesecond term," he said.

And he said professors would be pleased withthe long break between the New Year and thebeginning of second term.

"That, I think, is the major selling point ofthis calendar," he said.

Mashtots Professors of Armenian Studies JamesR. Russell said he was "all for" the proposal butstill listed several potential problems with thecalendar.

"A very sizable number of Harvard students areJews who have to celebrate the High Holidays, andthat's a problem," Russell said.

Student participants Michael P. Beys '94 andSean Becker '94 emphasized the calendar'sadvantages.

Beys, a former council chair, said he didn'tsee too many disadvantages from the studentsperspective.

"From the student point of view, I think itrepresents a single tradeoff--a carefree winterbreak or having extra time to catch up andsacrificing time for refreshing," Beys said.

Becker, a former chair of the council'sacademics committee, noted that the council hadworked hard to accommodate faculty wishes andHarvard's late Commencement.

"This calendar is a compromise and animprovement," he said.

Becker also pointed to a council referendumconducted in the spring semester of 1993 whichshowed that 70 percent of the students preferredexams before winter break.

"We want a month to enjoy ourselves and comeback from break refreshed," he said.

Herschbach noted that the calendar could beimplemented in as little as two years, assumingFaculty Council approval.

The panel was moderated by Sarah Bianchi '95,chair of HPU