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WSU plans for change in schedule

Transition from quarters to semesters a chance to ‘re-envision’ university, says official.

Nicole Petricevic, a senior political science major, studies for a test while inside the Student Organization Complex at Wright State. The university soon will switch to semesters. Staff photo by Ron Alvey

Ron Alvey Nicole Petricevic, a senior political science major, studies for a test while inside the Student Organization Complex at Wright State. The university soon will switch to semesters. Staff photo by Ron Alvey

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Converting universities to semesters a ‘mammoth undertaking’

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By Dave Larsen, Staff Writer Updated 7:20 AM Monday, April 20, 2009

Wright State University will reinvent itself with the transition from quarters to semesters in fall 2012.

“It’s a watershed moment for the university,” said Lillie Howard, Wright State senior vice president for curriculum and instruction. “This is our opportunity to reconsider virtually everything about the university and to re-envision it and to put in place the university of the future.”

Ohio University, University of Cincinnati, Ohio State University and Sinclair Community College also have approved the transition from the quarter system to a semester calendar.

“A conversion from quarters to semesters involves examining every process and procedure of the college, including every course and every program,” said Tom Huguley, Sinclair’s associate provost and chair of his school’s Steering Committee for Transition to Semesters.

A typical quarter is 10 weeks of instruction, followed by a week for final exams. A semester is 15 weeks of instruction and a week for exams. An academic year generally consists of three quarters or two semesters, totaling 30 weeks of instruction.

Academic advising will be a priority, so that students enrolled during the transition are not caught between quarters and semesters, officials said.

“We don’t want this change to harm students in any way,” said Howard, co-chair of Wright State’s Exploratory Committee on the Transition from Quarters to Semesters.

Wright State will offer more courses during the summers of 2011 and 2012 to allow students to complete those requirements before the semester calendar starts, Howard said.

This year, Ohio State students will graduate on June 14, while most students on semester calendars will graduate in May.

“If I’m in a tight job market and the competition is very high, the last thing I want is to have somebody else have a month’s head start on me,” said Tim Gerber, an Ohio State music professor and chair of the Ad-Hoc Committee on Semesters.

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