The committee that looked into possible changes in the quarter system and academic calendar was split down the middle and unable to make a recommendation for either the quarter or semester system, and only narrowly voted to stick with the current calendar.
In its report, Academic Calendar and System Committee pointed out several problems, including the tenuous budget situation, which would have to be addressed before the university switched to a semester system. The committee advised that the problems be looked into even if a change is not made.
For one thing, the workload for top-level faculty is already higher at Ohio University than at other research institutions under either system, and a switch to the semester system would require an additional 248 top-level faculty, according to the report.
The report also stated that the university's financial situation is not where it needs to be for major changes like these to take place. The report estimated that beyond hiring additional faculty members, the university would spend millions of dollars to make the change.
An additional financial concern is the possible drop in student enrollment during the transition period. The four Ohio institutions that most recently switched from quarters to semesters experienced a temporary two-year decline in enrollment between two and nine percent. A decline of four percent at OU would result in an estimated annual loss of about $9.4 million, according to the report.
The report states that the committee found it difficult to look at the calendar and the system separately, but that research clearly showed that most students
faculty and staff providing input to the committee expressed a preference for a significant mid-year break and an earlier end to the academic year.
While it is possible to have both under the semester system, the report points out that the only options under the quarter system are to begin the school year later or maintain the current calendar ' the decision that was made after an 11 to 9 vote, with faculty and undergraduate students comprising most of the majority.
President Roderick McDavis assembled the committee Winter Quarter after three Vision Ohio implementation groups recommended that changes to the calendar and system be considered.
The committee is made up of leadership of the (university's) constituent groups committee chair and former Faculty Senate Chair Phyllis Bernt said. It included members of all five senates and other student and faculty representatives.
The committee was organized into five subcommittees, each charged with a different aspect of the research process.
OU graduate and former Student Senate President Morgan Allen was part of the Survey Subcommittee, which created and distributed e-mail questionnaires to students, faculty and staff.
Undergraduate students were more likely to prefer the quarter system, while graduate students and faculty were slightly more likely to prefer the semester system.
I was generally happy with the number of responses that we got
and it at least showed that people are interested
Allen said.
When asked about the calendar, 54 percent ranked finishing earlier in the year as their first preference, while 37 percent favored a long break during the winter. About 9 percent preferred beginning later in the year.
The Functional Areas Subcommittee looked at the preferences of individual colleges, departments and groups within Ohio University. Overall, 11 of the 20 units that responded favored changing the system, the calendar or both, while five preferred the current system and four had no preference.
The committee's report also included an examination of the systems at other universities ' 81 of the 107 colleges and universities in Ohio use the semester system.
The question of quarters or semesters has been posed at least three times since 1992. Studies in 1992 and 1996 found no compelling reason to switch to the semester system. A survey drafted in 2004 was never sent out and the issue was dropped when then-Provost Stephen Kopp, who had raised the issue, left the university.
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Erica Nunez
