While the administration and faculty say it increases students’ success and provides flexibility, student leaders blame it for poor attendance at school and club events.

Bundit Kertbundit, president of the Associated Students of DVC, said student government and club events will continue to struggle if block scheduling remains in place at DVC.

But DVC president Judy Walters said the college has no plans at this time to make changes to the schedule, although plans are underway for a survey of student opinion.

DVC joined the ranks of many California community colleges this semester, doing away with 50-minute Monday, Wednesday and Friday classes and replacing them with 75-minute classes on Monday and Wednesday.

The Tuesday, Thursday schedule remained the same, leaving Fridays and Saturdays open for classes taught in three-hour blocks.

The decision to switch was made after a district-wide marketing study found that students preferred spending fewer days on campus, said Susan Lamb, vice president of academic affairs.

Also, Lamb said student success rises with longer class periods.

“It gives students a more concentrated time to really study,” she said, “and it does improve student learning.”

Under the new schedule, students can take a full load of back-to-back classes four days a week and finish by 12;15 p.m., providing them greater freedom with outside commitments.

But the crammed mornings and “day off” on Friday is causing the social community on campus to decline, said Francisco Hinojosa, president of the Inter Club Council.

Block scheduling complicates the already difficult task of creating a sense of community at DVC, similar to what can be found on a university campus, Hinojosa said.

Club Day, International Education Week and Indonesian Day drew smaller turnouts because “we’re now a commuter college, you go to your classes and then you go home or you go to work,” Hinojosa said.

Few people attended Indonesian Day on Oct. 15, despite lots of publicity, free food, live music, traditional dancing and martial arts performances.

“It’s not that students don’t want to come to the event,” said Indo DVC club president Jessica Tosin. “They just don’t have time to do so.”

But Bill Oye, dean of student life, while acknowledging that student turnout at club events is lower, said he is unsure whether block scheduling is the direct cause of this shift.

English instructor Judy Myers said many faculty members enjoy the new four-day schedule because it gives them the opportunity to have Fridays open for meetings and personal matters. Biology instructor Gabriele Weitzel said it also allows for better use of classroom time.

“I found the longer lecture time much more effective in the science classes, leaving more time to explore concepts [through] discussion or some brief group work,” she said.

Although student enrollment is up this semester (and DVC’s income is tied to enrollment), Laurie Lema, president of the Faculty Senate, said, “We wouldn’t keep [block scheduling] if it didn’t help the students.”

Students interviewed last week offered mixed opinions.

“My schedule isn’t as fluid as it’s been in the past,” said mathematics major Alex Grabowski, “but [it] has allowed me greater free time, both on campus and off.” Nursing student Maria Marty said, “Having Fridays off is more convenient for my schedule, but not having time in between classes leaves less time for me to do homework at school.”

But while some students said they like the longer class periods, others complained about the amount of work that can be packed into a single class.

“Not only is this a headache, but there is too much to learn in one day,” said Ratib Nemati.

President Walters said she is aware that some students find it difficult to schedule a break to eat with the new tighter schedule.

One way to address this problem would be a “college hour” in which no classes would be offered during a 30- to 45-minute period each day, a possibility she is considering for next fall, she said.