GPA won't change when quarters become semesters

You don't need to be a math major to compute GPAs in a semester system, but officials said credit hours might be a bit trickier.

When Ohio State switches to semesters starting Summer Quarter 2012, the Semester Conversion Coordinating Committee has decided that all data, including cumulative grade points, will be multiplied by .67.

Previously, the committee had decided to multiply all data by 2/3, and has just recently decided that 2/3 is defined as .67.

In addition to the cumulative grade point, the .67-rule will also apply to graded hours and earned hours. The committee decided that all credits earned on the quarter system would be equal to 2/3 of a semester credit.

Steven Fink, co-chair of the committee and an English professor, made it clear that students' GPA will not change at all. The change only applies to the credits they have earned.

"The number itself is not going to change," Fink said.

When the committee converts the data of the student records, the GPA under quarters is always the same under semesters.

After the committee has converted all the data, the conversion will appear on the bottom of students' transcripts. The info will be after the last quarter of enrollment as a "placeholder term."

Fink also said this only applied to students who will have credits on both the quarter system and the semester system.

The newsletter to students from the committee said the Office of Student Life conducted a survey to gauge students' knowledge about the quarter-to-semester switch.

The survey found that students know there is a semester switch in 2012, and most students understand the advantages of the switch. The survey also reported that students are beginning to become anxious for more details about course loads, scheduling classes, fee payment deadlines and effects on their employment.