Professors will be required to make up for the class time missed when classes were canceled due to winter weather in January in order to meet the course requirements set for accredited universities.

On Jan. 17 and 18, classes were suspended at Loyola due to winter weather in New Orleans.

Because of this lost class time, three-credit courses at Loyola dropped below the accreditation requirements set by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

Classes that meet three times a week are short approximately 50 minutes, while classes that meet twice a week are short approximately 75 minutes.

Professors will have to make up for lost time by having an extra class meeting, an online module on Blackboard or something else equivalent to the lost class time, according to Maria Calzada, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.

“There are a variety of possibilities and that’s why we left it up to the professors to do what’s best for the class and the students,” Calzada said.

While classes have been canceled before due to unexpected weather, this is the first time in recent Loyola history that class makeup times were necessary.

It is the first time this has happened since philosophy professor Mary Townsend started teaching at Loyola around the fall of 2015. To make up the class time, Townsend said she is considering giving an extra assignment to her students. She said she doesn’t think making up the class times should be too difficult.

“Fortunately, it was only one day,” Townsend said.

In the fall semester, there is more flexibility due to the threat of hurricanes, and fall break is a potential makeup time, according to Calzada.

“There are some constraints that don’t exist in the fall. We have Mardi Gras in the middle. We have Easter. We could potentially use some of that time if we have to as make up times,” Calzada said.

However, there is no plan at this time to use any of these spring semester holidays to make up for lost class time.

“This wasn’t bad enough for us to do that. This can be taken care of in a different way,” Calzada said.

The registrar’s office realized the issue due to the lost class time, and the registrar at Loyola notified Calzada that the courses had dropped below the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges’ requirements. Chairs for each department will be required to document how professors are making up for the lost class time for Loyola’s records.

“This is all internal,” Calzada said.

There are no plans at the moment to add cushion days to future semesters in order to avoid having to make up classes like this, but it is open as a possibility.

“Everything is a possibility . . . We are always looking at everything,” Calzada said.