Re: [Phys-l] trimester course set-up

[Larry Smith <larry.smith@snow.edu>]

At 9:53 AM -0400 8/30/06, Edmiston, Mike wrote:
> I have been teaching long enough that I have gone from semesters to
> quarters and back to semesters again.
>
> Most of the courses I teach are year-long courses.  If you switch from
> two 15-week semesters to three 10-week quarters, or vice-versa, it makes
> practically zero difference.  If your course meets five days a week each
> week under semesters, it is a 5-semester-hour course, and for the year
> the students get 10 semester-hours of credit.  If the same course meets
> five days a week each quarter, then it is a 5-quarter-hour course, and
> for the year the students get 15 quarter-hours of credit.  Credit-wise
> this is the same; 15 qtr-hrs equals 10 sem-hrs.  Yes, with quarters
> there is an extra start-up and an extra grading.  I believe that is a
> minor perturbation.

Except at my institution we had 150 instruction days per year under
quarters and the switch to semesters 8 years ago leaves us with only
140-142 instruction days per year (and there seems to be pressure to
shorten the semester even more).

However, I think the original poster was inquiring about high school
schedules and many of us have been replying about our experience with
college schedules.  There is a difference.  And there seems to be a trend
in high schools to move to trimesters with longer periods; in many cases
the students don't go to the same classes every day under this system.

Larry