Stanford University students will have to reset their alarm clock beginning next fall as the management has decided to start classes by 8:30 a.m.

Currently, the most popular classes start not before 10:00 a.m., which gives the students ample time to wake up and get ready.

Alarmed at the new proposal, around 1,700 students signed an online petition urging administrators to withdraw the recommendation.

Students expressed their disapproval as the management has taken this decision without their consultation or approval.

"Late at night -- that's when the cool stuff happens," 19-year-old Viraj Bindra, symbolic systems major from Singapore, told Mercury News. "I stayed up until 7 a.m. this morning on computer science problem sets."

The reason to reschedule college timings is to prevent lecture halls getting crowded during peak hours.

University Registrar Tom Black, told the newspaper that there are too many courses scheduled in the 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. time slot.

The decision to start classes early was supported by a report produced by a Washington, D.C., consulting firm. The university hired this firm to assess its feasibility.

It found out that planning for early classes would help the university to better manage its classroom space.

While majority of the students are annoyed by this new rule, certain students who are into athletics are not affected by this decision as most of their classes begin at 8: 30 a.m. to keep afternoons free for practice hours.

On the other hand, critics have slammed this decision by saying that it is inappropriate to force youngsters for early morning classes.

Many research studies have shown that most students are alert during afternoons and evenings and score high marks off afternoon classes and a good amount of sleep reduces stress and improves productivity.

History and political-science student Lauren Miller, 20, told the newspaper that it will be hard on students who take part in extracurricular activities, have part-time jobs or are habituated to finish their assignments and projects late at night as it is the most peaceful period of the day.

The new college timings at Stanford has already been incorporated in other well-known public colleges such as the University of California, Yale University, Princeton University and California State University systems, where classes start as early as 8:00 a.m.