In my last semester of my senior year of college, I managed to schedule classes from 9 to noon, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. See, I thought I was just getting a great schedule which allowed time for school, work, and hmmm, non-work.

What I didn't realize was that I was actually way ahead of the times. How so? Well a number of schools are now adopting 4-day weeks to save on energy costs. Forget about the fringe benefits of no classes on Fridays, it means all those heating, air-conditioning and electrical costs are cut back dramatically.

A recent CNN story on Brevard Community College in Florida pointed out that the 4-day week saved the school $267,000 in energy costs over a one-year period. Translate that into both a more energy-efficient operation from a Green standpoint, and also savings for the college that could be redirected to classes and student programs.

The trend, and it certainly seems to be a trend, is spreading to schools across the country, and also moving "downward" to high schools and elementary schools, particularly in the northern areas of the country, where it's often done only during the coldest winter months.


Of course, what we need to work on next is convincing more schools AND workplaces to adopt those altered workweeks. Love to be able to recreate something close to my senior year schedule, wouldn't you? TGIF! No, really, TGIF!

If your school or your company has gone to this kind of revised schedule, tell us about it, OK?

Photo by pvera