Gary Fencik had all sorts of Ivy League records as a receiver. He rarely if ever hit anyone in college. But it was clear that he didn’t have the speed or size to be a receiver in the NFL, and that his only chance of making it as a pro was to play safety.
I knew him somewhat in college. He was (and I assume he is) a smart guy, and his interests in life were not at all limited to football.
“It’s lean, it’s mean, it’s a learnin’ machine” would make a really good motto for the Monsters of the Midway. Do you hold the copyright, @JBStillFlying , and, if so, will you surrender it in the spirit of the selfless author of “where fun comes to die”?
@marlowe1 - it’s free to use as far as I know 
@BrianBoiler I asked your exact question and was told “nah”.Here’s the thinking: if something is properly taught in 10 weeks then starting a new unit for another 5, then breaking for several weeks, then resuming, doesn’t work. You need to break after the 10. Or extend the sequence to three semesters instead of three quarters and use filler. Not 100% sure about this but it’s quite possible that the year-long Calc. sequence at UChicago takes 3 sems elsewhere.
My daughter was discussing her courses for next quarter, since reg. begins next week. The quarter system definitely allows her to sample a wonderful variety of interesting topics, both for major and electives. It seems like the kind of system you’d want if you love taking courses.
My son is only a freshman, so his opinion may change, but he feels that the quarter system is all of the above (eg intense etc) but also in some cases does not provide enough time to go into depth on certain topics.
@Tiglathpileser - is he taking 3 or 4 courses?
^ Addendum to above: when I was a grad student there, taking 4 was unthinkable due to the pace, although in all honesty I don’t know what went on at the undergrad level. Back in the day when more top uni’s were quarter system I recall my pals taking nine courses during the year, while I took 8 or 9 at my semester-focused LAC (most were 8 but one semester I took three upper div. econ courses, a higher math course, and conversational french. Almost died that semester, especially because most of the conversational french kids were native speakers!). The following term I was at LSE and they were on quarters - we were only allowed to take three classes. The point of this rambling is that it seems that the course load has upped a bit for both quarter and semester systems. At UMN (a state school, of course) you need 120 credits to graduate. That’s 15 credits per semester and most courses are three credits - so five courses per semester is the standard. That’s 40 courses total. Is UMN harder than Harvard or other private unis that allow you to graduate with 32 courses?
4 total including 1 honors
Hello - I’m a member of the class of 2022 at UChicago. Although its only been a few weeks for me, I can see Dean Boyer’s points. The pace is very brisk here, and I can see many of my peers struggling. Would it help to spread things out over an additional 5-6 weeks? Definitely yes.
The composition of the College is a lot different from days past. Fewer weirdos, anti-social and miserable personalities. The frenetic pace of the quarter system doesn’t really help. They really want to make this place more pleasant and fun. If we can learn the same amount of material by switching to a semester system, then I don’t see anything wrong with that. Preserving history, just because it was done in the past, is a poor excuse for maintaining the status quo.
Perhaps my views will change after a few more quarters. But I sure wish that I had more time to take advantage of the multitude of non-academic opportunities here: arts, music, food, guest speakers, etc.
Also another negative of the quarter system: As a new freshman I’m only taking 3 classes. When applying for internships, I received some disbelief about why I’m not taking a normal college workload. It took quite a bit of explaining to make it clear that 3 classes is a full load at UChicago. People can’t seem to do simple math in their head and that 3-4 courses per trimester is the same as 5 courses per semester.
“Would it help to spread things out over an additional 5-6 weeks? Definitely yes.”
“If we can learn the same amount of material by switching to a semester system, then I don’t see anything wrong with that.”
These two statements are incompatible.
@f77a9b82 , you are saying what many who went before you have said just at this stage of their lives as U of C students. I for one am pleased to hear it. It is some evidence that the College still retains its old spirit, notwithstanding the diversions it now offers. However, don’t despair, at least not beyond reason. I can tell you that it gets better over time. One’s intellectual muscles need to be built up. Learning doesn’t come easy, and now you are at the University of Chicago. You’ll be proud of yourself and will look back some day with real satisfaction: You got a genuine education.
I for one am dubious there is any link between “intensity” of learning (defined as cramming a semesters worth of wok into a quarter) and learning outcomes. And, important material cannot be covered in at least one of the subjects I know about.
Before opining on quarter vs. semester systems, I just wanted to clear up a quick misconception – Stanford’s Law, School, like its undergraduate schools, run on the quarter system. So does its medical school.
https://www-cdn.law.stanford.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/2018-19-academic-calendar-1.pdf
Quarters and semesters each have advantages and disadvantages, depending on the subject material, students’ individual learning styles, and the classes themselves. With quarters, the pace is obviously quicker and there’s less wiggle room when it comes to procrastination. They’re great for students with good time management skills and that don’t allow themselves to fall behind. They’re rougher for those that have trouble staying on top of the material and tend to procrastinate.
Semesters are great if you love the material and really want to sink your teeth into a subject and/or undertake a large research project. Quarters probably work less well for grad school students than they do for undergraduates.
Quarters allow students to take more classes (minimally, nine classes per year assuming only three classes per quarter. At Stanford, however, most students in the humanities and social sciences typically take four classes per quarter, ranging from 3 to 5 units apiece; many classes are offered varying numbers of credits, with expectations regarding output varying accordingly. I can’t speak about STEM courses, as I am less familiar with them and I don’t know how labs fit in. More often than not, students take at least 12 classes a year.)
One thing that great about quarters is that breaks are really breaks – no final exams, midterms or other work looming after winter and spring vacations. It’s also nice to start fresh three times a year (while everybody else on the semester system is heading into finals and writing papers after their spring break, students on the quarter system start a whole new set of classes).
The biggest downside of the quarter system is that the school year ends later (beginning to middle of June) which, in turn, can put students at a disadvantage with respect to internships and/or summer class schedules at other institutions. That said, there are no shortage of schools that run on the quarter system, so employers/lab supervisors have dealt with students on the quarter system before. Likewise, profs will usually work with you to allow you to get your work done sooner so that you can start an internship or a job.
On the whole, I think that, depending on the student, quarters can offer more advantages than disadvantages.
^ Good synopsis.
“Semesters are great if you love the material and really want to sink your teeth into a subject and/or undertake a large research project. Quarters probably work less well for grad school students than they do for undergraduates.”
Do you like iOS vs Android? Do you prefer Nikon vs Canon? Do you learn more from semester vs quarter? These are questions that boil down to personal preference and circumstances. There were classes I wish it could last one whole academic year but there were classes I wish it ended in 4 weeks.
FOR ME, I prefer the quarter system. I like the fast pace and change of rhythm once every three months. But some other people may have totally valid reasons to prefer semester system.
Going back to the original topic, I think quarter is going to stay at U of C. Without a compelling reason to switch, institutional inertia will make it hard to change. Dean Boyer can spend all day musing about the conversion to semester system but the faculty will most likely vote it down in a heartbeat.
Definitely agree that some people learn better on a trimester system, and others prefer traditional semester-based classes. Each has its own pros/cons. I also agree that the faculty will probably not vote for a change. I went to a high school that had a quarter system, so I understand it quite well.
However, there is a definite transformation underfoot. The administration clearly wants UChicago to move away from being the geeky school filled with asocial but brilliant brainiacs. Most of the members of my class don’t resemble any thing from years past. Sure there are still lots of quirky kids, but now we have jocks, frat-bros, prep school elites, crazy rich internationals, low-income, rural, and everything in between. My father is a College alum, and is amazed at the huge transformation in the student body and atmosphere. UChicago is not static, and will continue to adapt and change with the times.
The quarter system was introduced to the American university by the University of Chicago at its founding in 1892. I admit that I partly like it for that reason. It speaks to the spirit of innovation that inspired the University from its origins.
A learned paper on the subject (at https://aefpweb.org/sites/default/files/webform/AcademicCalendarV6.pdf ) says that over time the percentage of American institutions on the quarter system rose to as high as 30 percent, but has declined in recent years to 5 percent. If Stanford and Northwestern and Dartmouth abandoned the system, would Chicago follow suit? --No, for then we could truly claim exclusivity for the U of C in this domain as we did in the days of Harper!
Undoubtedly the quarter system, with its later graduation date in the Spring quarter, puts students at a disadvantage in finding summer jobs. I remember that phenomenon well. I ended up doing jobs I didn’t much care for because all the students at other schools had taken the desirable ones. That might have been good for my character. There is discussion of that disadvantage on this board from time to time, but I don’t recall anyone suggesting that the existence of the quarter system was for that or any other reason a factor in declining (or wanting) to attend the University of Chicago. It certainly shouldn’t be. It is merely part of the idiosyncratic package you get at this school.
It would be interesting to compare the reading lists for comparable courses taught during a U of C quarter as against during a semester at one of the peer schools. In my last year I took a magisterial Tolstoy course from the late Edward Wasiolek. The readings included the whole of the three big novels, “War and Peace”, “Anna Karenina” and “Resurrection”, as well as the short novels, “Childhood”, “The Death of Ivan Illych” and “Hadji Murad” and an assortment of shorter stories and parables. It was not the entirety of Tolstoy, but it came close. It was a lot of pages to read, and, like so many U of C courses, one had to focus one’s energies and put in real time to get to the finish line, write the paper and take the exam. The lectures were thrilling. Having so little time to cover this mighty oeuvre meant that Wasiolek too had to focus his energies. He did not disappoint. I still remember many of his observations and his opening up of not only the text in many crucial passages but his descriptions of the entire personal, intellectual and social world out of which the mighty writer came - and not least a comparison with his great but antithetical rival, Dostoevsky. I doubt that much would have been added if the course had extended another five weeks. Something indefinable might even have been lost.
“However, there is a definite transformation underfoot. The administration clearly wants UChicago to move away from being the geeky school filled with asocial but brilliant brainiacs.”
Not sure that any such “transformation” includes dumbing down the pace. They can continue introducing more tracks if that helps. Also “honors” means something different at UChicago than at other schools, and people need to keep that in mind.
Are you suggesting that only a-socials can handle a quarter system? That’s a bit of a stretch. Been over to Law or Booth lately?
“Undoubtedly the quarter system, with its later graduation date in the Spring quarter, puts students at a disadvantage in finding summer jobs. I remember that phenomenon well. I ended up doing jobs I didn’t much care for because all the students at other schools had taken the desirable ones. That might have been good for my character. There is discussion of that disadvantage on this board from time to time, but I don’t recall anyone suggesting that the existence of the quarter system was for that or any other reason a factor in declining (or wanting) to attend the University of Chicago. It certainly shouldn’t be. It is merely part of the idiosyncratic package you get at this school.”
Two of the most elite private schools in the country are in the Chicago area, generate thousands of eager students seaching for summer jobs each year, and are on the quarter system. In all the school visits we’ve made to NU over the years, I’ve never once heard a student up yonder north complain that they were shut out of the internship market.
UChicago has Metcalf internships - among others - and these companies, organizations and agencies should be very familiar with UChicago’s academic schedule. When I interned on Wall Street as a summer associate from Booth many years ago it didn’t occur to me that my schedule somehow compromised my chances in any way. Certainly all the Booth alums interviewing on campus didn’t suggest it. I just showed up with all the other Booth summer associates to my place of employment and that was that. Orientation for us opened that week. It seems that when the employer is eager to have you on board, they accomodate your schedule.
I don’t know when Stanford Law School went to a quarter system. It didn’t have a quarter system when I went there. We had regular, old semesters.
I would be curious to know how the quarter system works. The curriculum for the first two quarters today is almost exactly what the curriculum for the first two semesters was in my day. People are taking five courses first quarter, and four of them are big, meaty courses (with the fifth being a very time-intensive, highly necessary course in legal research and writing). In our 15-week semesters three decades ago, we struggled (and failed) to cover all of the topics you would want to cover in those foundation courses, and we weren’t lollygagging our way through them. For most students, the first year of law school requires learning an entire new vocabulary and way of thinking, as well as dealing with a volume and pace of material not encountered before. I can’t imagine how they cram enough into the foundation courses in the 12 weeks of instruction allotted in the first quarter, and 9 weeks in the second.