<p>Surely someone in higher ed could have figured out a way to get more use out of these amazing academic, housing, and athletic facilities. Yeah, they are used a little bit in the summer, and there are various youth camps, but still the vast majority of these facilities are unused for nearly half the year (the 2 main semesters are usually only 15 weeks each). </p>
<p>Dartmouth's innovative quarter system has a way of getting more use out of the facilities in the summer--requiring all sophomores to be there for the summer, and setting things up so that a lot of students in other classes might want to go then too.</p>
<p>The colleges that I think could make the most use out of their schools in the summer are the big state universities whose cold climates probably scare off a lot of students who might attend if they could avoid the harsh winter semester. For example, if U of Wisconsin-Madison or U of Minnesota made it really really easy to attend in the summer and fall (adjusting course offerings and housing contracts to make that an easy combination of semesters to attend), and then take off the winter semester, they might fill the place up in the summer.</p>
<p>That’s nothing - think of all the football temples that are built and used to maximum capacity 7 days a year - 6 football games and graduation day.</p>
<p>The quarter system is not particularly unique to Dartmouth. What is more unusual there is the D-plan, which encourages students to attend during the summer (normally the lightest enrollment) while not guaranteeing four fall quarters (normally the heaviest enrollment).</p>
<p>The quarter system does have some additional overhead. While three quarters and two semesters have the same 30 weeks of instruction, the quarter system will have one extra set of overhead days (a few days before classes start for last day registration matters, a week or two of final exams after classes end) per year. That is in addition to doing the scheduling and registration work one additional time per year.</p>
<p>At semester system schools, the summer term is typically a half length term, so a student taking a full time course load in the summer would take about half as many courses or credits at double the speed.</p>
<p>Dartmouth’s D-plan does more than “encourage” students to attend during the summer; it requires that they be in attendance during their sophomore summer term. They are then able to be off-campus during one other regular term of their choosing.</p>
<p>This is sort of one college’s attempt at year-round schooling, and it comes with both pros as cons.</p>
<p>Pros: It makes more efficient use of the facilities and modestly reduces the need for housing, since a portion of the student body will be off-campus in any given quarter. It also gives students the chance to pursue internships, jobs, or other interests during times of the year when students at other colleges are all in class - leaving the market all to themselves.</p>
<p>Cons: It creates a lot of discontinuities, both academic and especially social. The bonding with classmates is reduced and the creation of residence House loyalty and cohesiveness is impossible with everybody coming and going on different schedules.</p>
<p>Not quite of their choosing. Students have to propose three D-plans that the school then chooses, at least one of which the student is off-campus during a fall quarter in sophomore or junior year.</p>