The University of Cincinnati is seriously looking into the possibility of changing from quarters to semesters, and indications are that the change is going to happen, and soon. The task of reviewing the change has been assumed by the UC Semester Conversion Task Force, with the help of various committees.
The major hope is to align UC’s schedule with those of most major universities here in Cincinnati and around the country.
Many issues and principles must first be looked at before the change can take place. Issues such as course scheduling, new academic policies, a new academic calendar, summer scheduling shortened to benefit the new schedule, the establishing of a co-op, student teaching, and clinical calendars, among others, all have to be seriously considered.
The Provost’s Office will deal with different and separate issues besides those of the Task Force. Such issues include the course credit module, degree requirements, credit requirements for degrees and limits thereon, contact hours required for courses, and student work required per credit-hour.
Conversion of the University’s General Education program will be referred to the General Education Advisory Committee. A separate group will be established to address faculty contract matters. The fact that the University of Cincinnati is the founding institution of cooperative education, many principles must be met to facilitate the needs of students in the co-op program. The hope is to implement a three term calendar which consists of fall, spring, and summer. Research has shown that the three term calendar has been successful for many major universities in the country.
The Ohio Board of Regents (OBR) has created guidelines that universities must follow in order to sustain a three term plan. The guidelines set by the OBR are as follows: OBR guidelines define an ideal semester as consisting of 15 weeks of instruction combined with a separate exam week.
OBR defines one semester credit-hour as 15 times 50 minutes of lecture plus two times 60 minutes of exam time. OBR guidelines further allow for the offering of a summer term that is somewhat shorter in length, assuming it allows for the same material to be covered as during a Fall or Spring Semester.
Also a calendar sub-committee has been created to establish unity in sync with the Semester Conversion Task Force. This sub-committee must establish days in session, days off session, exam days, application deadlines, financial aid deadlines, fees deadlines, registration, and many other important dates.
As of right now the plan to change from quarters to semesters is in the beginnings of the developmental stage, but a target date for the plan to be completed is May 21, 2008.