Several top-level administrators said they prefer semesters to quarters last night, but added they had not decided to change Ohio University's academic calendar.
Students asked Executive Vice President and Provost Kathy Krendl and others who attended Pizza with the Provost about the possibility of switching from quarters to semesters. The University System of Ohio, a plan to unite the state's public universities, recommends all four-year schools have a common calendar. Of Ohio's 13 public universities, OU is one of four using quarters.
Krendl said a common system would improve coordination among universities and would allow students to smoothly transfer from one school to another, among other advantages.
When 80 percent of all institutions in the country are structured on semesters
how do you think textbooks are set-up? she asked.
Vice President for Finance and Administration Bill Decatur and Ann Fidler, dean of the Honors Tutorial College, both said they preferred semesters.
Switching would cost between $500,000 and $1.5 million, Krendl said. The cost would include a slight enrollment dip during the first year of the switch, new materials and costs associated with changing the curriculum, she said.
Decreased enrollment would be caused by many students graduating before the switch to prevent academic complications, Krendl said.
Most plans from other institutions recommend taking three years to switch, which would allow freshmen who started on quarters to finish on the same calendar, she said.
No one has been able to find any significant difference in terms of learning outcomes Krendl said, but added semesters allow for greater depth of subject matter and more ambitious projects.
Student Senate surveyed students about their perceptions of quarters and semesters last year, senate President Tim Vonville said.
Student Senate concluded we preferred quarters but we saw definite merits to the semester system as well
he said.
Other topics discussed included changes to general education, OU's distinct identity and potential shared services.
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