The transition from quarters to semesters isn’t going to be a small one at Sinclair Community College.
During the fall of 2012, Sinclair will convert to a semester system. Formerly the Director of Registration at Sinclair, Allison Rhea is now the Director for Semester Transition.
Rhea, who began working on the project in early November, said the majority of colleges and universities are going through the same process that Sinclair is facing.
“This is momentous because there are 19 institutions changing at the same time,” she said. “So we’re really looking to create some synergy.”
Rhea, 39, said state institutions are primarily converting to semesters and a few private schools decided to make the change, as well. One of the reasons behind the statewide change is to help ease the process for a transferring student.
“The most positive thing is the transfer ability,” Rhea said.
Rhea said 80 percent of colleges in the United States are on semester systems. Other schools facing the change include Ohio University, Wright State University and the University of Cincinnati.
“The real positives for students is a less compressed time frame,” she said. “The real benefit that people like to hear about is fewer books. You only have to buy books twice a year instead of three times a year.”
The jump from 11 weeks to 16 weeks has more benefits, according to Rhea. Some include a slower pace to learn and a more appropriate summer break.
Sinclair currently begins its academic year in early September and finishes the year in early to mid June. With the change to semesters, the college will open in mid to late August and wrap up in late April to early May.
Rhea pointed out a negative, too. She said the only problem that has risen is with classes that students find difficult.
“When a student is in a class and is not enjoying it, it goes five weeks longer than it currently does,” Rhea said. “But I truly believe in the positives from a slower pace of learning and more time to get into the subject matter offsets that.”
Rhea pledges that students will not lose any ground during the transition when it comes to graduating from Sinclair.
“The biggest piece I need to emphasize is students need to stay in touch with an academic advisor,” she said.
More information can be found on Sinclair’s quarters to semester transition at www.sinclair.edu/semesters.