Summary

Implementation of Semesters

10/6/04

The implementation of semesters presents a variety of challenges both in managing curriculum change and in redesigning our administrative processes and policies. In general, areas of impact coalesce into the following major areas:

  • Student Information System and software changes (job scheduling, programming, reports, screens, compatibility with historical data, etc.)
  • Procedural and workflow changes (time to assess, redesign, and implement)
  • Policy revisions and updates (approval, rewrite, communication to students)
  • Revisions to publications and web content
  • Communication of change to students, parents, and external agencies, vendors, etc.
  • Transition planning and implementation
  • Rescheduling of classrooms and events
  • Staff training (extensive)
  • Opportunity costs; diverting staff away from operational tasks, system improvements, and new initiatives

Pros and Cons associated with moving from quarters to semesters are predicated upon the values of the individual and institution. Statements regarding potential value to students, enhancement of the curriculum, and the impact on administrative processes fluctuate depending upon the perceptions of those providing commentary. As a result there are few clear cut gains and losses but rather an array of potential benefits with predicted impacts that vary depending upon what is valued.

Academics and Curriculum

In general faculty at institutions that have moved to semesters report improvement in their curriculum by allowing for enhanced writing assignments, time for remedial work, and improved depth of understanding. Conversely, many faculty believe that course content that is best delivered through repetition and more consistent exposure to material is better suited for the quarter system. With regards to broad curriculum integration, semesters support integration by encouraging enrollment in general education courses simultaneously with courses in preparation for the major.

Academic and Curriculum Topics

  • Rebuilding the curriculum could take many hours (varies by department)
  • Reaction among academic departments is mixed; some are enthusiastic, programs that are integrated with WSU for example, while othersfeel the work will yield few benefits
  • Most five credit courses will translate rather easily
  • Courses that are four or three credits present some difficulty
  • Three quarter sequences convert nicely, but two quarter sequences are problematic
  • Text books are generally designed for semester delivery, better curricular coordination among semester schools for transfer students and within course sequences
  • Building the initial schedule of courses for departments with multiple programs may be a challenge especially where multiple programs share a single course
  • Semesters provide a better timeframe for EWU students wishing to study abroad as well as more direct credit evaluation for international students seeking enrollment here at Eastern

Administration

Semesters can reduce the overall workload in administrative offices if cross-training is emphasized. Management of the human resources is especially important in the Semester environment which is characterized by increased service demand during peak periods and lower service demands during mid-term periods. Current directors do not see moving to Semesters as providing a substantial savings potential.

General Administrative Considerations

  • Conversion of data for historic records may be needed
  • Many academic policies are based on a quarterly implementation schedule
  • University catalog will be impacted significantly in several areas
  • Web siteswill be developed to support continuing students who are enrolled during the transition
  • Policy development and review can be time consuming
  • Project management in data conversion, web site, curriculum approval, catalog updates
  • Capacity may be impacted among “Basic Skills” courses. Facilities scheduling and availability of graduate assistants and instructors as well as adjunct faculty may make it difficult to offer the same number of sections over two semesters as are currently offered over three quarters.
  • Communication to many constituencies, students and agencies; web sites, mailers, and publications – both during and after the transition to semesters
  • Extensive staff training

Records and Registration Impact

  • Form and web documentschanges (redesign and re-order)
  • Changes in registration cycles
  • Academic Calendar modification; timelines for publications and scheduling
  • System tables and feeds to other systems
  • Same number of registrations annually but in two waves not three
  • Same number of coursesections to maintain
  • Same number of graduation applications
  • In many instances intensity and duration of activities increase but the number of high demand times decreases annually – neutral net effect

Undergraduate Advising Impact

  • Advising for next-term registration takes place over a longer period of time which may result in:
  • Higher quality of student contact
  • Better academic planning
  • More faculty contact and training time is available in semesters

Admissions Impact

  • Changes to file and transcript evaluation process.
  • Rebuilding transfer equivalencies in student information system and transfer guides
  • Convert admissions cycle to meet semester based system.
  • Convert admissions publications and web site to meet new cycle, new priority dates, etc.
  • Admit decisions come sooner
  • Fewer admit points each year
  • Transcript evaluation

Financial Aid Impact

  • Rewriting of all forms, publications, and web content
  • Revisions to student budgets
  • Revisions to many process cycles including;
  • application cycle and needs analysis routines (FAFSA and scholarships)
  • file verification, awarding, loan certification, and disbursement cycles
  • Revisions to student employment cycle
  • Revisions to satisfactory academic progress cycle
  • Revisions to statistics and fund management process
  • Revision and rewrite of all term-related policies and procedures
  • NSLDS reporting
  • Coordination with historical data
  • Quarters provide a shorter time frame for disbursement of one-term loans as well as a shorter time frame for the return of Title 4 funds (lower cost of failure to students)

Student Financial Services

  • All rate tables (tuition, fees, housing and Dinning, etc.) would need to be redone
  • The tables of historical information would need to be changed to reflect semesters for re-enrolled students
  • All bills and forms would have to be changed or purchased

Technical/Information Services

  • Reporting cycles reduced
  • Difficulty comparing data between quarter credits to semester credits
  • All user controlled SIS tables must be changed if they involve credits in any way.
  • All locally created and modified COBOL and FOCUS programs must be modified to reflect just two terms instead of three

Student Impact

In general student response at institutions varies according to the system each is most familiar with. Students caught in the transition find many frustrations in navigating curriculum changes “mid-stream” and find it difficult to adjust to the longer terms and increased number of courses each term. For the students who enter under the semester system there seems to be little impact.

  • Students have earlier opportunities for summer and full time jobs
  • Less time spent by students on administrative tasks (registering, advising, etc.)
  • Easier for students to schedule their work hours
  • Better compatibility with area K-12 school districts and Running Start
  • Better support of athletics for fall sports
  • Fewer financial aid award adjustments
  • Advantages students in the summer job market and graduation job market
  • Semesters can make budgeting financial aidmore difficult, larger awards over more time
  • In the quarter system, students are not as likely to procrastinate coursework on papers and other projects
  • If students have a professor or class they don’t like, the quarter is done more quickly that the semester
  • More time to recover from a bad start in a class, reduction in dropped classes

Additional Considerations

In partnership with the Community Colleges of Spokane these topics were discussed and accepted as being representative of the issues associated with transitioning from quarters to semesters. Our community college partners face an additional challenge and that is of records and reporting. The community college system uses a central data structure to which all community colleges report. If the Community Colleges of Spokane were to transition to semesters with Eastern they would be the only semester schools in the system which could cause difficulties in reporting enrollment among other things. A strong statement by Eastern regarding its commitment to semesters is important to the colleges’ effort to overcome their own records issues.

Without exception all who were asked believe that converting to semesters should take place after the implementation of Banner is complete. This does not mean that there is no benefit to making a decision soon on the semester question. In fact the implementation process could support the future transition to semesters by making adjustments when possible that are cognizant of a semester schedule.

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