Students will notice a significant shift in their upcoming schedules as fall 2023 advising approaches.

Some of their classes will be held in spaces that aren’t really classrooms, and students may have to miss student club meetings in order to attend a class during the 12:30 p.m. window on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which previously was a period of time where no classes were held.

After the announcement of a new dorm to replace Mercy Hall in the fall of 2025, Loyola has begun preparing for the next phase of the project.

Renovations to kickstart the new dorm are slated to begin next fall, forcing numerous courses that were formerly held in Mercy Hall to seek new locations and time slots.

According to Vice Provost for Institutional Research, Accreditation, and Academic Engagement Uriel Quesada, the university is working on several initiatives to offset any consequences that students may feel as a result of the lack of classroom space on campus.

The Office of Registrar is looking at available spaces that can be added to the classroom pool in order to utilize the use of classroom spaces in other buildings, Quesada said. He also said that the Provost’s Office and the Office of the Chief Operating Officer are collaborating to identify alternative facilities that can be used as classrooms after being renovated over the summer.

Not only do classes have to find new classrooms, but Quesada said some of them may have to be pushed to earlier and later time slots, and some maybe even during the Tuesday and Thursday window at 12:30 p.m. While not uncommon, there could be a bigger number of 8:30 a.m. and 4:55 p.m. classes.

Quesada said that he is confident that this new time slot shouldn’t affect the majority of department and organization meetings, and that academic units are actively reviewing their fall schedule to use any available time slots.

“A project of the magnitude of a new building on campus brings many challenges, but also long-term benefits for our students and the rest of the Loyola community,” he said. “Academic and administrative units across campus are working hard to ensure minimum disruptions to our regular operations.”