In a concrete step to impact mental health and wellness, UK is slated to institute a fall break in the Fall 2019 semester.

In a 42-8-6 vote on Monday, the University Senate passed a motion to amend the University Calendar. The motion incorporates a two-day fall break into the ninth week of each fall semester.

Students will forgo classes on the Monday and Tuesday following midterms week in October in order to “catch up on work, visit home, and decompress,” according to the proposal.

Roughly 65 percent of UK’s comparable benchmark institutions of higher education have already introduced fall breaks of varying lengths into their own calendars.

Student Body President Ben Childress delivered the proposal to the University Senate.

The Student Government Association felt that the addition of this break falls in line with the current “reshaping of the first-year experience on campus in regard to K Week activities and early move in,” the proposal said.

Childress’s proposal was endorsed by the Associate Provost for Student and Academic Life Greg Heileman and Dean of Students Nick Kehrwald.

“I think this will help academic success. I think it’ll help mental health and wellness, and I think it’s just one of those no nonsense policies,” Childress said. “I think it’s a win for the whole campus.”

To accommodate for the loss in instructional days, the fall semester will now begin on Monday instead of Wednesday.

The fall break will have no effect on the currently scheduled Thanksgiving break, and campus residence halls will remain open during the break.