Quarter Vs. Semester

<p>well stated, superjad...</p>

<p>great, always with the last word. fine i give up you win. happy? your thinking too hard again with your overanalyzations. </p>

<p>of course my bad experience is unique to me and me only. im also santa claus. ho ho.</p>

<p>anyways superjad, rose hulman sounds like small school. a school that can execute quarter terms. you say it starts when other schools do. sounds to me like the school knows how to pull it off. amybe the profs understand the rigors, and teach accordingly. maybe students can handle it at rosehulman. the UC quarter system is a different case. and a good number of schools on the quarter system happen to be uc's, and a lot of kids looking at this very discussion applying to uc's are now a little more educated. and most students wouldnt say, "hey, i want more classes."</p>

<p>and why oh why please tell me why are the vast majority of schools not on the quarter system? b/c they want to? why? maybe b/c its more efficient. maybe b/c more kids would drop out. amybe b/c profs wouldnt want three terms themselves. maybe b/c its simpler with unit/credit calculation? maybe b/c there really is no point to tacking on an extra term? oh please tell me why, atleast guess.</p>

<p>"For example, in a 1981 opinion paper to the Davis Division, the Committee on Academic Personnel and Budget Review observed: "We consider the semester system to be pedagogically superior and more consistent with modern trends in education...""</p>

<p>"These considerations are specific to the Davis campus and the current budgetary climate. Other administrative advantages accrue regardless of the specific campus circumstances. Registration, advising, financial aid, housing, collection of fees, and other students services would operate on a twice a year cycle. This would result in some cost reductions over the long term as well as reductions in faculty and student time involved in these functions. Indeed, administrators and staff at Berkeley who were interviewed as part of the current task force deliberations unanimously approved of the change to semesters. Michigan State's Assistant Provost Barbara Steidle reported similar reductions in the workload of administrative and student service offices. "</p>

<p>"The (student) subcommittee reported that the strengths and advantages of the semester system are primarily pedagogical and pace oriented, thereby influencing student life and, especially, the lives of students with special needs"</p>

<p>"In general, the slower<em>paced semester system helps students to manage their course loads better and reduce the stress of the fast</em>paced quarter system. A recent survey (February 1993) conducted by the Student Affairs Research and Information Office and ASUCD indicated that "time pressure**not having enough time for all the things you must do" is the greatest problem affecting student life, among undergraduate and graduate students alike. "</p>

<p>"Most units reported that, after the initial start*up costs, the semester system would reduce administrative costs."</p>

<p>ouch, low and behold: <a href="http://chancellor.ucdavis.edu/resource/commun/1997/semester/sctfrep.cfm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://chancellor.ucdavis.edu/resource/commun/1997/semester/sctfrep.cfm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>an article like this took me about three seconds to google. uc merced, the newest uc, is on semester sytem as well.</p>

<p>I remember reading a report about UCLA considering semester system too...</p>

<p>boom: <a href="http://www.today.ucla.edu/2002/021210semester.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.today.ucla.edu/2002/021210semester.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>boom boom: <a href="http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/db/articles.asp?ID=18454%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/db/articles.asp?ID=18454&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>its too easy: <a href="http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/db/articles.asp?ID=18755%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/db/articles.asp?ID=18755&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p><a href="http://www.senate.ucla.edu/calendar/binder_history_a1.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.senate.ucla.edu/calendar/binder_history_a1.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>ucla med school and law school are on semester sytems.</p>

<p>its funny, it seems the ucs want to change. and eventually will.</p>

<p>Trojan, look at this way:</p>

<p>There have been times when I enrolled in a course, I had to drop it. Do you realize I was able to take that course again another quarter without having the risk of being behind? You can't do that on semesters.</p>

<p>^^ I had to do that very thing this quarter, because of my new job that takes up a lot of time since I have to study as much material as a 5 unit class. I can just pick it up again next quarter, no problem. </p>

<p>Like I said, YMMV... I like the quarter system
and MTM, grad school is a completely different thing and should not be compared. In med school, your schedule is laid out for you already - there are no choices in classes or schedules.</p>

<p>great, so i guess now we know which system is better. the grad school thing was more like a sidenotenote not a main argument, i thought you could tell the difference. is my "logic flawed" or something?</p>

<p>now kids can make a real informed choice when picking schools based on term system.</p>

<p>I personally love the quarter system. The semester college courses that I am taking an have taken feel too long. I enjoy the quarter system because its more fast pasted. Everything is always new and you don't get that drained feeling like you do in a semester class.</p>

<p>The semester system allows students to receive a more in-depth education but the quarter system allows students to try out and experience more classes. No matter what you still going to get a good education in you major with each system. </p>

<p>Also i like getting out later and going back later... you get the full summer.</p>

<p>Internships- I like how MrTrojanMan emphases the importance of having an internship. Icarus knows what he is doing and knows that everything that he is doing will get him where he wants.<br>
UC Davis is on the quarter system and is known to have one of the largest internship programs for its students. I believe it’s the largest in the UC system and one of the largest in the nation.</p>

<p>Next year i'll be at a UC , so I haven't actually attended college full time yet.</p>

<p>great, so i guess now we know which system is better.</p>

<p>my entire point is that which is better is very subjective. All the articles you can find won't change that.</p>

<p>And I don't think that anyone should choose a school based only on term system.</p>

<p>great retort. btw, my point was that semester sytem is better. UC Davis and ucla would agree with me.</p>

<p>UC Davis and ucla would agree with me.</p>

<p>Actually... not so much, considering both are on the quarter system. As much as you would probably wish it were so right now, the Daily Bruin does not speak for UCLA.</p>

<p>they will once they convert to semester system. daily bruin does speak on ucla, so does their senate and so does ucdavis's chancellor's "semester system conversion task force". it might take ucla while, having spent near 100k changing up their logo. what smart budget management. again, great retort, keep em coming.</p>

<p>yes, the DB does speak on UCLA, but not for it - huge distinction.</p>

<p>and the senate? </p>

<p>youre starting to sound desperate. running out of retorts?</p>

<p>you're kidding right - you didn't even deny what I just said, and you're calling me desperate?</p>

<p>oh, and that senate report your linked is just that, a report... not a recommendation or anything else implying that one system is better than the other</p>

<p>wow, this is getting better and better. i have all kinds of ish supporting my claim that the semester sytem is better, especially in that ucdavis report and ucla today. you have nothing for support except your opinion. eventually all the ucs will convert to semseter, b/c it makes sense. and to not would be a poor choice. why would cula's senate consider it? for the heck of it? maybe b/c its a good idea to switch. </p>

<p>ill let the articles speak for me:</p>

<p>"The University of California is a single university with multiple campuses. We have one Academic Senate and one president to preside over the 10 campuses and represent the university in Sacramento. A single calendar for all the campuses is advantageous and desirable. The benefits cannot be ignored. Being on the same calendar would mean better systemwide planning and reporting, uniform graduation requirements and more. It would be more convenient for students who want to take courses at other campuses or do special projects under a professor whose expertise is not available at the local campus"</p>

<p>"The transition will bring with it a one-time cost, but the operational costs are expected to be lower under a semester system due to the decrease from three to two registration and enrollment periods in each academic year."</p>

<p>"In the long run, conversion to the semester calendar is a worthy investment that will ultimately enhance the quality of undergraduate education."</p>

<p>and thats just from the "ucla today" article. the articles have spoken. </p>

<p>"UCLA administrators and faculty are considering following a recent trend in public universities to move from quarters to semesters. </p>

<p>The change would be costly and involve changing every course on campus, but administrators and faculty are willing to do this for what they say will improve the quality of education. </p>

<p>"I have not yet met anybody who has been in both extensively who believed that students learn more in the quarter system," said Chancellor Albert Carnesale. </p>

<p>While Carnesale would not say if he approves of the change, he is concerned about how much students can learn under the current quarter system. </p>

<p>"There are not very many first-rate universities in the country that have stayed on the quarter system," Carnesale said. </p>

<p>Many universities, including Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Minnesota, have changed to semesters in the past few years."</p>

<p>i think carnesale speaks for ucla.</p>

<p>ucla med and law schools were on quarter sytem, they converted back. why do you think that is? obvioulsy those schools saw the benefits and decided to change over, instead of drumming up report after report of why semesters are better and not taking any action like ucla undergrad. why isnt berk or merced switching back to quarter system?</p>

<p>"Judith Smith, co-chair of the joint administration and faculty committee investigating the change, said it is an ideal time to change to semesters because it would cost less now since UCLA is reformatting another administrative system. </p>

<p>Other advantages of semesters – which are five weeks longer than quarters – include being able to teach more in one course and give students more time to learn and perform coursework. </p>

<p>Smith is also concerned that entering freshmen and community college transfer students – neither of whom have been on the quarter system before – may have a harder time adjusting to UCLA because UCLA uses quarters."</p>

<p>wow, sloppy argument but it gets the job done. and your retort? (dont bother)</p>