Ohio University President Roderick McDavis will propose switching the university's academic calendar from quarters to semesters at the Board of Trustees' June meeting, a high-ranking administrator confirmed yesterday.
McDavis will recommend that OU make the switch in 2011, the same year OU expects to begin using its new student information system. Administrators have said the cost of the new system should not exceed $20 million.
Ohio's Board of Regents, which oversees higher education in the state, has pushed for all public universities to adopt a common academic calendar, among other changes, as part of a proposed University System of Ohio. All but four of the state's universities operate on semester calendars.
Board chairman Dan DeLawder said he has not heard anything official about such a proposal, but added the University System of Ohio would be the biggest influence on any discussion.
I think it would be a fairly engaged discussion. I look forward to it
DeLawder said, adding he enjoyed quarters while an OU student.
The Academic Calendar and System Committee, which was charged with recommending whether the university should make a switch, deadlocked last summer.
The evidence was not sufficiently compelling to convince a majority of the Committee that either system is preferable according to committee's final report.
The committee found several problems with a potential switch, including a lack of Group I faculty, the university's ongoing budget problems, lack of a fully-functioning student information system and low morale among university constituents.
According to the report, the last four colleges to switch from quarters to semesters saw a temporary drop in enrollment. The committee calculated that at a 2 percent reduction in enrollment, the university could lose $4.7 million. At a 7 percent reduction, the university could lose $16.5 million.
Coupling those losses from tuition and subsidy with other anticipated costs, the university would stand to lose $8.2 million to $21.1 million total, according to the report.
Phyllis Bernt, who chaired the committee, said those numbers are very conservative estimates.
At a May meeting with students, Executive Vice President and Provost Kathy Krendl said a switch would cost between $500,000 and $1.5 million. At the meeting, Krendl said that range includes a slight drop in enrollment, new materials and curriculum changes.
By changing its academic calendar at the same time it introduces a new student information system, OU will eliminate many of the costs associated with retooling its computer systems. The new system will replace outdated software that predates the Internet. The system, developed by Oracle Corporation, will consolidate services ' such as course registration and online bill payments ' currently offered by a variety of different offices.
It will cost the University of Cincinnati about $13 million to switch to semesters, said M.B. Reilly, who worked on Cincinnati's Semester-Conversion taskforce. The university has not made a decision on whether it will switch.
Ben Ogles, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said yesterday he has not heard anything about such a proposal.
I think we're as close as we've ever been but the trigger hasn't been pulled yet
Ogles said, adding he would prefer semesters.
' Chris Kardish contributed to this report
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