Academic quarter (year division)
Encyclopedia
An academic quarter refers to the division of an academic year into four parts, found in a minority of universities in the United States and in some European and Asian countries.
organized the University of Chicago
on behalf of John D. Rockefeller
in 1891. Harper decided to keep the school in session year-round and divide it into four terms instead of the then-traditional two.
Of the four traditional academic calendars (semester, quarter, trimester, and 4-1-4), the semester calendar is used the most widely, at over 60% of U.S. higher learning institutions, with less than 20% using the quarter system. This number has stayed fairly constant since 1930, when 75% of U.S. institutions surveyed indicated they used a semester plan, with 22% on the quarter system.
During the 1960s, a number of U.S. statewide educational systems made a switch from a semester to quarter system, typically in an attempt to accommodate the Tidal Wave I enrollment boom, most prominently the University of California system. Since then, UC Berkeley switched back to semesters in 1983, the new UC Merced branch opened with the semester system, and some UC professional schools have switched back to semesters at various points. At various points since, committees have been established and official discussions have taken place within the UC system to discuss a systemwide switch back to the semester system.
In recent years, a number of higher education institutions have considered or already approved a switch to a semester system including the higher education systems of Ohio and Georgia, and individual public colleges. Rochester Institute of Technology has announced their intention to convert to semesters by Fall 2013, although the decision is highly controverstial, overriding a student vote to remain with quarters.
A quarter system calendar also may put schools at a disadvantage in competing for prospective students, who wish to keep in-step with friends, and offer more opportunities for students to "disconnect from school."
Quarter systems do allow students to enroll in a richer variety of courses and school-coordinated internships and may encourage students to take on double majors, minors, concentrations, and the like.
A quarter system can maximize the use of college facilities in a time of enrollment growth, as it allows for four regular periods of academic instruction. Also, quarters allow for faculty to engage in terms with a relatively light course load of teaching and greater opportunities for short sabbaticals.
Background and trends
In the United States, quarters typically comprise 10 weeks of class instruction, although they have historically ranged from eight to 13 weeks. Academic quarters first came into existence as such when William Rainey HarperWilliam Rainey Harper
William Rainey Harper was one of America's leading academics of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Harper helped to organize the University of Chicago and Bradley University and served as the first President of both institutions.-Early life:Harper was born on July 26, 1856 in New Concord,...
organized the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
on behalf of John D. Rockefeller
John D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller was an American oil industrialist, investor, and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of...
in 1891. Harper decided to keep the school in session year-round and divide it into four terms instead of the then-traditional two.
Of the four traditional academic calendars (semester, quarter, trimester, and 4-1-4), the semester calendar is used the most widely, at over 60% of U.S. higher learning institutions, with less than 20% using the quarter system. This number has stayed fairly constant since 1930, when 75% of U.S. institutions surveyed indicated they used a semester plan, with 22% on the quarter system.
During the 1960s, a number of U.S. statewide educational systems made a switch from a semester to quarter system, typically in an attempt to accommodate the Tidal Wave I enrollment boom, most prominently the University of California system. Since then, UC Berkeley switched back to semesters in 1983, the new UC Merced branch opened with the semester system, and some UC professional schools have switched back to semesters at various points. At various points since, committees have been established and official discussions have taken place within the UC system to discuss a systemwide switch back to the semester system.
In recent years, a number of higher education institutions have considered or already approved a switch to a semester system including the higher education systems of Ohio and Georgia, and individual public colleges. Rochester Institute of Technology has announced their intention to convert to semesters by Fall 2013, although the decision is highly controverstial, overriding a student vote to remain with quarters.
Arguments
Concerns over the quarter system include faculty dislike of the brevity of the term, the loss of faculty research and collaboration time, the shortness of student internship periods, difficulties in recovering from illness-linked absence, and the heavy administrative workload.A quarter system calendar also may put schools at a disadvantage in competing for prospective students, who wish to keep in-step with friends, and offer more opportunities for students to "disconnect from school."
Quarter systems do allow students to enroll in a richer variety of courses and school-coordinated internships and may encourage students to take on double majors, minors, concentrations, and the like.
A quarter system can maximize the use of college facilities in a time of enrollment growth, as it allows for four regular periods of academic instruction. Also, quarters allow for faculty to engage in terms with a relatively light course load of teaching and greater opportunities for short sabbaticals.