FAQs for Students

1. What is the difference between a quarter and a semester?

A quarter is normally 10 weeks of instruction, then a week for final exams, while a semester is 15 weeks of instruction and a week for finals. It takes three quarters to make an entire academic year, while it takes two semesters. Under either system, there are about 30 weeks of instruction in one academic year.

2. Why is SSU changing from quarters to semesters?

Semesters provide several advantages to students, faculty and staff. The semester system:

• Provides more time for learning course material;
  
• Provides an opportunity for faculty to update curricula;
  
• Provides more time for summer internships;
  
• Brings SSU courses in line with most textbooks which are written on the semester calendar;
  
• Gives students a better chance at summer jobs because the school year ends earlier;
  
• Allows graduating seniors to enter the job market earlier;
  
• Reduces registration and financial aid activity from three times to two times per academic year;
  
• Brings SSU’s calendar into line with the academic calendars of over 75 percent of the colleges and
    universities in this country;
  
• Brings SSU’s calendar into line with most of the state supported universities in Ohio;
  
• Allows better scheduling of off-campus learning experiences such as student teaching and clinicals;
    and
  
• Promotes better scheduling of activities involving other universities and colleges such as
    conferences and athletic events.
   

3. When will SSU make the official change?

The semester calendar will begin with the summer semester, 2007 in June.
 

4. Is the calendar finalized for the fall semester? In particular when is the first day of class? I

    cannot find this information on the website.  

 Yes, the calendar was approved by the SSU Board of Trustees on February 9, 2007. A link is available at www.shawnee.edu  that will provide direct access to information on semester conversion and the calendar. There is also an email link to allow you to submit questions as they arise: semester conversion@shawnee.edu. The first day of class for the fall semester is August 27, and the semester ends December 19, 2007.

5.  The student transition guide indicates there will be a catalog and published conversion. 
Where can I get that information? 

The specific program semester information is now available in your department and program.  Course schedules with descriptions and details are available now at www.shawnee.edu. See your advisor or department chairperson for information. The University catalog will be available in June.

6.  Will tuition and fees be higher under semesters than under quarters?

Tuition and fees for the full academic year under semesters will be the same as they would have been for a full academic year under quarters. Keep in mind, though, that because the full year’s charges will now be divided into two semesters rather than three quarters, one semester’s charges will be proportionately higher than those for one quarter.

7. Will I lose any credit hours under semesters?

No. All quarter hours will be converted to their equivalent number of semester hours.

8. How many hours are considered full-time under the semester calendar?

Enrollment in 12 semester hours is required for full-time status. Most students will take about 15 hours to stay on track for graduation.

9. How many credit hours under the semester system will be required for graduation?

The minimum number of hours needed to earn a bachelor’s degree will be 124. The minimum number to earn an associate degree will be 60. However, some majors may require more.

10. Will semester conversion affect my graduation date?

If you are currently on track for graduation, conversion to semesters should not affect your graduation date. An Individual Advising Plan (IAP) completed with your advisor will project your graduation date. An IAP is a specific advising plan for each student who has attended under quarters and will graduate under semesters.  This is a form/checklist that the student can use to chart their direction and progress for the semester system.

11. As a student what do I need to do to prepare for the change?

Ask questions. Talk to your advisor, department chair, the Registrar’s Office and the Provost’s office.  Complete an Individual Advising Plan (IAP). Keep up-to-date on new information. Read and save all information released concerning semester conversion.

12.  What is a Transition Advising Plan (TAP)?

A Transition Advising Plan (TAP) is a specific advising plan for each department/program. It is a complete list of courses needed for graduation, and is required for any student who will be taking courses under both quarters and semesters while at SSU.  These will be implemented with an Individual Advising Plan for each student.  The Transition Advising Plan (TAP) developed in your department/program is available as a guide when completing the Individual Advising Plans. Please see your Advisor or Chairperson for details and information.

13.  What is an Individual Advising Plan (IAP)?

An Individual Advising Plan (IAP) is a specific advising plan for each individual student who will graduate under semesters.  This is a form/checklist that the student can use to chart their direction and progress until Degree audits are available for the semester system. This form can be completed with your advisor to project your progress and graduation date on semesters. (See page 26 for a sample.)

14.  How are the class times going to be?  Will they be 2 hours or different? 

There are many ways that courses will be offered, as you know.  We can’t say “how class times will be” as it depends on each department’s schedule and available classrooms.  However, the “block” schedule (available from department chairpersons) has a standard of Monday, Wednesday and Friday courses of one hour each; Tuesday/Thursday classes will be one hour and 20 minutes each.   Not all courses meet these standards however.

15.  Will all courses be offered in the full semester term?

Regular courses will normally be full semester courses.  Exceptions may include bridge courses (short term transition courses) designed as necessary during the transition to semesters for some programs and limited to specific students.  Other exceptions may include laboratory courses or internships within full semester courses, developmental courses, co-op programs and other such offerings.

16.  Will summer 2007 be different than the following summer semester schedules?

Yes, the 2007 summer schedule will differ from future summer schedules due to the end date of the 2006-2007 academic year operating under the quarter system.  The summer schedule, with classes beginning June 25 and ending August 17, should follow the above “standard” as well, but because of the truncated term (seven weeks) this year, course sections will meet either more frequently (more days each week) , for more hours (each day), or both.  

17.  Will this coming summer semester cost about as much as a quarter or a semester? It  normally costs me about $2,000 a quarter. I would like to know if the summer prices will go up for money saving purposes.

The SSU tuition and fees for the summer semester will be approximately $ 2,916.00 for a full-time student.  This is a “translation” of the 2006-2007 quarter fees into semester fees.  There is no tuition or fee increase included.  The tuition and fees were adjusted to reflect the change from four quarters to three semesters.  In other words, the fees went up by approximately one-third.  Fees for the 2007-2008 Fall and Spring Semesters have not been established at this date.

18.  How long will substitutions and waivers be accepted for the semester transition?

SSU accepts substitutions and course waivers regularly now; there will be no change or need to establish a deadline.

19.  Will I be able to repeat a course, to improve a grade and their GPA, after the course has been converted to a semester from the original quarter course?

Yes, you can continue to repeat courses to replace grades from a quarter course to a semester course change.  If the course has been changed and merged with other content, the Department can review the individual student’s request and determine how the replacement grade and which equivalent course would change the old course grade.

20. Which students can register for ENGL111S spring quarters 2007?  

Registration in ENGL111S is restricted to the following students for the winter and spring quarters 2007:

1)      Students who have failed ENGL111S previously;

2)      Students with academic majors in the College of Professional Studies that require ENGL111S and ENGL112S only; and

3)      Students applying for admission to academic programs in #2 above.

Students permitted to register for ENGL111S must be “authorized” prior to registering for one of the limited ENGL111S sections.  Please contact the Student Success Center or the Department of English and Humanities for assistance.

Semester transition students not permitted to register for ENGL111S must complete the Semester English Composition Sequence (ENGL1101 or ENGL1102 and ENGL 1105) beginning next summer semester or fall semester, 2007.

21.  The English GEP sequence is confusing … can you clear it up?

Scenarios:

1)      Student has taken 111 but not 112 or 115

2)      Student has taken 111 and 112 but not 115

Students should try to complete the composition sequence this year if at all possible. If a student has taken 111, he or she should take 112 next quarter and 115 in the spring. If the student has taken 111 and 112, the student should take 115 in the spring.   

22.  What does a student do who has partial completion of the GEP on quarters and the remainder on semesters?    

The overall structure of the GEP is the same for both the quarter and semester calendars.  That is, both programs have nine content categories: 

• English Composition
• Quantitative Reasoning
• Social Sciences
• Fine and Performing Arts
• Natural Sciences
• Western Cultural Perspectives
• Non-Western Cultural Perspectives
• Ethics
• Senior Seminar

Completion of a content category on the quarter system will translate into completion of the same content category on the semester system. 

23.  Are there community colleges in the area that students can take these (English 111, 112, 115) courses at that will transfer?
Refer to the CAS system at www.transfer.org. The Office of the Registrar is a good resource since they evaluate all incoming transfer credit. Certainly, we suspect that credit from, for example, Ohio University Southern Campus or Ohio University-Chillicothe would be treated as routine transfer credit.  

24.  Will a student qualify or benefit from the transition promises who has been enrolled during  the defined timeframe but withdraws and then re-enrolls later?

A “transition student” is defined as any full-time student at Shawnee State University who completed 12 or more credit hours in good standing for at least one term during each of these periods:  September 2006 – June 2007 or June 2007 – May 2008. 

All students will have the opportunity to be considered for these transition promises on an individual basis, but matriculation during the transition periods defined above will determine eligibility for these exceptions.  Each department and advisor will certainly be the student’s first point of information in deciding when the student would graduate and if there were any circumstance that are exceptional and apply to the policy for student fair treatment.

25.  Do you know when the class schedule for fall will be available?

The course schedule for summer and fall semester will be published in mid April before registration begins on April 23.  The semester calendar is on the SSU website, www.shawnee.edu, click the semester conversion/summer 2007 link on the left that opens to a link for the semester calendar and other semester information.  Course descriptions and course equivalency details are posted there as well.