The Spring 2026 semester started today, and students are wondering why the university decided to start the term on a Friday.
“[It’s] literally pointless, just start the semester on a Monday,” said a commenter on The Collegian’s Instagram.
According to the university, the reason for starting classes on a Friday is that students now get more time off for Thanksgiving break in the fall.
“Because the campus now observes a full week off for Thanksgiving (no classes during Thanksgiving week), the instructional start date was set to the first possible day,” according to the office of the dean of Undergraduate Studies.
Each academic year is supposed to meet a minimum number of instruction days, and in order to meet that requirement, the spring semester needed to start on Friday.
Some students see this as a positive thing.
“[It’s] awesome for those of us with no Friday classes/Friday labs,” said another commenter on The Collegian’s Instagram. “We get break until the 20th.”
But others have mixed reactions.
“I think it’s kinda weird cause I feel like the least amount of people are on campus Fridays,” said Samuel Quintero, a Fresno State Media, Communications and Journalism major.
Fresno State will be closed on Monday, Jan. 19, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, but the semester will be in full swing by Tuesday.