I did a count of the number of days in class at NEU compared to other universities. The school year starts this fall on 9/7/16 and ends 4/28/17. Some of my friends’ kids have already left and continue into May 2017.
To take out the variability of days off for school holidays and differing Thanksgiving, Christmas and Spring breaks, I did an actual count of days in class for the 16-17 year and found this:
NEU 126 days
UIUC 144 days
Northwestern 149 days
Tufts 131 days
Harvard 131 days
Given that a school week is 5 days in most cases, the difference between NEU and NW is 23 days - 4 weeks + 3 days of classroom time in a school year. Even looking at the other schools in Boston, they have an extra 5 days of class time.
My question is this: Does it make a difference at the university level?
The school operates on a “trimester” system for the most part- fall (Sept-Dec), Spring (Jan-Apr), and Summer (May-Aug, which is usually split into two half semesters Summer 1 May/June and Summer 2 July/August)… which is why we start later and end earlier. For whatever reason, Boston universities all start fall classes after labor day anyways. You’ll notice it’s pretty comparable to local Boston schools, and if you’re doubting whether Tufts and Harvard can compare to UIUC and NW, I don’t know what to tell you.
I haven’t felt that my education has been compromised whatsoever, and as employers continue to hire our students for co-op over and over again, I don’t think our respective industries feel we’re suffering too hugely either. I imagine our curriculum just moves at a faster pace, which obviously is not ideal for some.
Interesting analysis and question though not sure what you mean by “difference.”
As a full tuition payer, yeah, I’d love to think that my full pay tuition dollars would produce more days in class. But then again, the full pay tuition at a place like Northwestern is more expensive than Northeastern’s so per hour I doubt cost matters. And then a quarter system might also mean more flights home for those of us who have to think about that which adds to the cost. AND… students who are in a quarter system that get out late in the summer are often at a disadvantage at securing summer internships.
So yes it makes a difference but being different isn’t bad even when comparing schools on semester vs. quarter systems. 5 days of difference between let’s say Harvard/Tufts and Northeastern, means a schedule that allows the NEU to facilitate their unique co op program with summers 1 and 2 still offering a rich selection of classes.
Consider that Oxford’s schedule is 3 8-week terms, but only 2 of these terms are courses (the last term is just for taking exams). That’s a total of 80 days of classes. (And I swear, everyone I know at Oxford is always travelling and never working…)
Northeastern’t term never felt short to me, including in comparison to friends at other universities.
@halflokum , by difference, I meant comprehensiveness of instruction. As my husband pointed out, I didn’t really take out all the variables since the amount of classroom time in a given lecture could also vary. I’m sure they adjust their lesson plans to get all the content in.
Your point about getting out early in the spring and being able to make the most of summer internships is something I didn’t think about and is spot on. Thanks for reminding me of that.
@nanotechnology all I can say is thank God my kid isn’t going to Oxford
