calendar
Calendars are tied to the skies and the stars, the sun and the moon, the weather, etc. However, academic calendars also structure the pace of the study of materials and things of that nature.
The university observes a trimestral schedule with each trimester lasting sixteen weeks and a break week afterwards ( two weeks at Christmas). Since most schools begin the year on July 1, the first trimester begins around September 1, with the intro mini class the week before to see if you like it. Adhering to this plan, the spring trimester began on 6 January and we are now in the 10th week as such--the next mini class would be "walking" by Thoreau, and you can do a swamp walk, field walk, forest walk or whatever you wish to prepare for such academic and aboriginal agricultural adventures. Of course you can participate anytime, (asynchronous is the word commonly used), if your heart calls you, but the Dept of Education and other accrediting agencies which may or may not be altered under the current administration, have accreditation guidelines and out of deference to their organization we adhere to formal rituals of a sort one of which is full moon festivals which date back to Passover, Ramadan and before. THe world today uses what is known as the Gregorian calendar which dates back to Pope Gregory in the 16th century, around the time of all the upheavals of the discovery of the "New World".