A number of U.S. higher education institutions are converting from quarter-to semester-based academic calendars; in fall 2012, seventeen Ohio institutions did so. Over a two-year time period, college student samples were recruited from a large, public, urban, Midwestern university that was undergoing a transition from a quarter-based to a…

Chabot College began in 1961 on the semester system and converted to the quarter system in 1966. This study was conducted in order to determine whether or not Chabot should return to the semester system. Questionnaires distributed to students and faculty revealed that whereas 88 percent of the responding students favored the quarter system, 52…

A three-phase study was conducted at the College of the Redwoods (C/R) to determine if the college calendar should be changed, and if so, how. The first phase of the study consisted of establishing priority criteria for consideration of alternative forms of calendar organization, identification of calendar alternatives, and compilation of a list…

The question of which calendar is best for Barstow College (BC) is addressed in terms of general considerations connected with academic calendars, the intended effects of the quarter system, the issue of cost effectiveness, and the advantages and disadvantages of both calendars. First, introductory material discusses BC's conversion to a quarter…

After reviewing types of college calendars (traditional semester, early semester, trimester, and quarter) and previous research on the use of various school calendars, this paper describes a survey conducted by Ocean County College, a medium-sized college currently using a traditional semester calendar, to determine the views of students, faculty,…

This document reports that many community colleges are considering changes in their traditional semester calendars. In California, the most common question facing colleges is whether to switch from the traditional (in California) 18-week semester to a 16-week one. This paper details the results of a student and faculty survey conducted at…

This document provides an overview of the advantages and disadvantages of five different academic calendars, including: traditional semester, early semester, quarter, trimester, and "4-1-4." The present California State Code defines the academic year of the California Community Colleges as 175 days, based on the K-12 standard. This…

A trend toward adoption of the early-semester calendar, which runs from August to May with exams before Christmas vacation is discussed, along with other changes in college scheduling for curriculum development, increased efficiency, student job scheduling, student retention, and decreased paperwork. (MSE)

In an effort to determine the most effective school calendar system, a task force was formed at Pennsylvania's Reading Area Community College to examine the advantages and disadvantages of converting from the college's current term calendar to a semester system. The task force examined the experiences of 11 other institutions that had undergone…

A study was conducted at San Joaquin Delta College (SJDC) to determine whether its present calendar, based on the traditional semester system, should be abandoned in favor of either the quarter or the early semester calendars. The study involved: (1) contacting employers to determine the effect of a calendar change on student employment, (2)…

In order to determine whether there were compelling reasons for Schenectady County Community College (SCCC) to change its quarter calendar, and which calendar would be most appropriate to the college and most responsive to the problems that made the change seem desirable, previous calendar change studies were reviewed and administrators of…