The Fall Pause: An Overview of the Current Canadian University Landscape and a Review of the Related Emerging Literature

Abstract

In recent years, many Canadian universities have added a Fall Pause to their academic calendars. However, those who have been making these decisions have been doing so without having access to any resources that provide an overview of existing Fall Pause practices or models across the nation. Additionally, there exists a paucity of literature that provides a sound rationale for the introduction of a Fall Pause. This paucity of literature makes research-informed decision making about the introduction of a Fall Pause an especially difficult task. Given these observations, we have undertaken the task of writing this article with two goals in mind: (a) to provide an overview of the current Canadian university landscape with respect to the Fall Pause; and (b) to provide a scoping review of the related emerging literature related to the Fall Pause. With this information made available, it is our hope that university faculty and administrators will be better positioned to make informed decisions about the possible introduction or continued inclusion of a Fall Pause in their own universities’ schedules. They, and we, might also then be able to have a better (informed) sense of the research-based outcomes for those who have already introduced and/or experienced a Fall Pause.