The Retirement Newsletter: Is this the start of my last full academic year?

Issue Number: -72 — have I really reached this point?

Photo by Suad Kamardeen on Unsplash

Welcome

Welcome to issue -72, where I contemplate the start of my last full academic year.

Why would my ‘last full academic year’ be such a big deal?

Read on to find out.

Planning

If all goes to plan, I have 72 weeks left until I retire. (Now you know, if you didn’t already, why this issue is -72 — I am counting the weeks until I retire). So that means I am entering my last full academic year, and for me, that is a big deal.

The Academic Year

I have very few memories that I can say come from my pre-school days. I can remember going to nursery school, and I can remember starting at infants’ school.

Infants’ school puts you on track to schooling until you are 18, and then it is university, still with time organised around the school year.

And I have never left the university system. I did my PhD; I worked in university labs and became a lecturer. Things were all still based around the academic (school) year. Even when I was post-docing and not working with students, things still worked around the academic year. That is how universities work.

So, for as long as I can remember, my time has worked on academic years — September to August. And this can confuse ‘non-academics’ because when I say ‘next year’, I am usually talking in academic years. For example, from the start of September 2022, if I say ‘I will take care of that January next year’, I mean January of the next academic year — January 2024 — and not, as most people would think, January 2023.

Confusing — isn’t it?

Is it just me who thinks like that, or do most teaching professionals think that way?

Moreover, the start of the academic year is an important time of year for me. I have new courses to teach, old ones to improve, and new students are starting. It is a busy time.

For me, the academic year moves through four distinct phases. And while the timing or content of these will vary for different academics, I bet we all go through a similar process.

Phase 1 — September to the end of December — the start of the academic year

The start of the academic year is always a busy time. And every year, I ask myself the same question — “What happened to the summer?”.

I like the start of the academic year, as it is a bit like the start of the new year in January. It is a time to start afresh with new students and new challenges. But, these days, one academic year rolls into the next. I will still be dealing with issues and lots of unnecessary paperwork from the previous year in late November of the new year.

The arrival of new students always injects energy into life on campus. The place feels lively and new. It's the 'spring' of the university.

Phase 1 is a good time of the year as there is very little marking until mid-November, and I get to do what I like to do — teach. And for some reason, throughout my career, most of my teaching has happened in phase 1.

Phase 1 can be viewed as the spring and summer of my academic year.

Sadly, just like the real spring and the summer, phase 1 is over too quickly, and we roll into phase 2

Phase 2 — January to the end of April — pre-exam season

Phase 2 always has the post-Christmas blues and the dull drums of winter. The only pluses are the nights drawing out, and the real spring is on the way. But, in the academic year, phase 2 is the autumn.

I am lucky that we do not have January (end of the semester) exams where I currently work. So, at least there is no exam marking.

Every year, the prep for exam season (phase 3) starts earlier and earlier. The exam questions would have been set early in phase 1, but there is always tidying up and refining of the questions in phase 2.

Phase 2 is also a busy period for marking — usually, lots of marking of final year dissertations.

The highlight of phase 2 for me is that I get to teach my labs. Always great fun and highly enjoyable. But very tiring.

The phase finishes with some revision lectures and student stress levels rising as the exams approach.

Phase 3 — April to the end of June — exam season

Phase three is the revision and exam period. We are now moving from late autumn into the academic year’s winter.

During phase 3, I am a counsellor as I have to support students during their exams. I am an administrator, as I have to deal with all the exam paperwork and check that the correct marks go forward on the student records. And I have to do lots of marking. Marking is one of the things I enjoy least about teaching.

I do not enjoy phase 3. There is no teaching, and it is all administration and marking.

Phase 4 — July and August — the tough phase

Phase 4 is my least favourite phase. It is the deepest depths of winter of the academic year.

In phase 4, students get their marks. A tough time for staff and students.

During phase 4, resit assessments are set up, more marking, more exam paperwork, and then talking to students about their resit marks. The worst conversations are with students that have not passed their exams and cannot get their degree or move on to the next level.

I find the tail end of phase 3 and all of phase 4 very stressful. It is not a good time of the year. It is the deepest darkest part of the winter of the academic year.

But, at least, there is spring on the horizon.

My last full academic year

Anyway, my ‘last full academic year’ is a big deal as when I retire, I will not only be leaving my job but also changing my calendar. I will be running January-December for the first time since I was five. Kind of exciting.

One thing is clear when I look at the above timeline of the academic year. There is no downtime. The ‘long summer off in academia’ does not exist. It is a myth. I find it almost impossible to squeeze a two-week break in during the summer, let alone take ‘3 months off’ as many people believe I do.

The myth of the ‘long summer off’ is an interesting one. Friends I have known for years still talk about my ‘long summer off’. And recently, I was having a coffee (in my case, tea) with some friends who are teachers, and they asked how I was enjoying my long summer break. They were two weeks into their six weeks off. They get the long summer break.

When I retire, what I will miss is the teaching. I will miss giving lectures, setting up things online for my students and running labs. I won’t miss all the pointless paperwork, the marking, and the general administration.

If all goes to plan, this year will be my last year of four phases. Next academic year (2023-24), I will bow out at the end of phase 1. I will miss all the hassle of exams, marking, and paperwork in phases 2, 3 and 4.

I know I shouldn’t wish my life away, but roll on next academic year.

Next week

Next week, in issue -72, I will write about side-hustles again and ask — is retirement your biggest start-up?

Thanks,

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Until next time,

Nick

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