Semester system could benefit OSU

Semester system could benefit OSU

I fully support Richard Sisson’s intentions of having Ohio State University switch from the quarter system to the semester system.The quarter system is materially wasteful for OSU. It requires additional administrative manpower, effort, time and money to deliver (less) education compared to the semester system. It is all the more ludicrous for a school with 50,000 students, hundreds of departments and many thousands of courses.The current quarter system emphasizes “exposure” rather than “learning.” Many courses, especially those in a series, are (constrained to look) painfully repetitive. Ten weeks are not enough to have a good understanding of most noteworthy ideas. Time constraints have made it a standard for instructors here to begin a course with a general lament about the “little time that we have to cover the material.” That is probably also the reason why more students submit substandard homework and term papers.  Do we need longer transcripts? I would classify the quarter system as the academic equivalent of junk-food. Cheap (tuition for 10 weeks got to be less than that for 14). Fast (more courses in the same time). Also, something to avoid for better health in the long run.

Sanjeev AryaGraduate Student City and Regional Planning