Low completion rates and increased time to degree at U.S. colleges are a widespread concern for policymakers and academic leaders. Many "full time" undergraduates currently enroll at 12 credits per semester despite the fact that a bachelor's degree cannot be completed within 4 years at that credit-load. The "academic momentum"…

This article follows a small piece of one community college's SEM [strategic enrollment management] journey in using its student retention data to identify opportunities to deploy re-enrollment strategies. The re-enrollment rates of new students who did not return following their first semester served as the starting point of the investigation;…

Four-year colleges and universities submit faculty teaching load and instructional cost data annually to the Delaware Study of Instructional Costs and Productivity. While the Delaware Study currently adjusts the calculation of annual FTE students to account for the difference in annual student credit hours (SCH) earned by students at semester and…

A national survey of colleges and universities gathered information on variation in academic calendars across schools and over time; how many days, weeks, or minutes are considered necessary for a semester or a unit of academic credit; and who sets those standards. Results suggest little standardization and a shrinking semester. (MSE)

Effects on students of changing from the term to the semester academic calendar at Central Missouri State University (CMSU) were studied. Attention was directed to changes in average student credit hours generated, course load, grades earned, and classes dropped per students. Undergraduate and graduate students were evaluated 2 years before and 2…

The effects of a calendar change from the quarter system to the semester system on enrollment patterns, student credit hour productivity, grading patterns, and course completion patterns were investigated. Enrollment and grade pattern data were collected for nine Florida public universities and Iowa State University, for 1980-1982. Additionally, a…

These three reports present instructional data for Mercer County Community College for Summer and Fall 1980 and Spring 1981. The first report, covering summer sessions from 1974 through 1980, examines instructional hours, class size, student credit hours (SCRH), student contact hours (SCH), income/cost measures, instructional staff, full-time…