Students at UBCO will be off school this winter break for a week longer than usual.

According to a report by the and The , the Senate has approved the week-long extension, pushing the term two start date to Jan. 11. It will now end April 13, a total decrease of two teaching days.

According to the , both UBCO administrators and students were largely in favour of the term date changes, quoting an 鈥榦verload鈥� of work.

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According to a UBCO spokesperson, this move comes as an initiative to support student mental health.

However, the Senate stated on Twitter some programs may opt-out of these changes, and retain their original term two start date of Jan. 4. Changes, they stated, should be reflected in the UBC Okanagan calendar website by mid-day Friday (Nov. 27).

UBCO stated the revised schedule preserves the week of Feb. 15 to 19 for midterm break, but classes will finish on April 13, five days later than the original schedule. Final exams will start April 16 and continue through April 29, concluding two days later than the original schedule.

Also, they explained a few professional undergraduate programs that have special requirements will remain with a Jan. 4 start date.

鈥淭he decision to adjust the Term 2 schedule was not taken lightly and we know it will affect people in many ways, but it is intended to support our community鈥檚 mental and physical wellbeing,鈥� stated the UBCO spokesperson in an email.

The student senate caucus advocates for the roughly 11,000 students studying at UBC鈥檚 Okanagan campus.

The university has yet to announce the extension on their website.

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This story was updated to include comment from UBCO.

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