The Q2S change is happening in less than six months, and it can be intimidating if you don’t have the correct information. Students worry about not being able to finish on time or taking classes that they shouldn’t need to. Departments set up their own criteria, but as far as general education goes, everyone will have to follow the same requirements.
Dr. Craig Seal, who is the former dean of the Office of Undergraduate Studies, spoke about the advantages of teaching on a semester system based on his experience with both approaches.
“Quarters are so fast. When you get in and you miss a week because something happens, all of a sudden you’re failing a course and there’s no chance to correct it. If you make a mistake early, you can recover from that mistake, semesters allow that to happen,” Seal said.
The cloud that’s hanging over students’ heads is the fear that semesters will push degree progress back which Dr. Seal answers here.
On the quarter system, students have a two to four-week disadvantage since we get out in June. With the change, we’ll be able to apply for internships, summer, and job opportunities with other Cal State Universities quicker since we’re going to be on the same schedule.
Grace King is the Technical Director/Project Manager of the Quarter to Semester Conversion.
She talked about the resources students have in order to know where they’ll stand academically if they’re on the semester catalog.
The Schedule Planner is a tool where you can select classes and block out times where you aren’t available and it will give you combinations of your class schedule that you can chose.
The Course Conversion Guide tells you which classes are semester equivalents, quarter only, or semester only.
To calculate your GPA, you can plug in your classes and it will generate a result for you.
Roadmaps are made by departments to show how you can graduate in four years.
Classes start August 24 for Fall of 2020, unless you’re taking Saturday classes that start August 22.
They start at 7:30am and end at 9:45pm Monday – Thursday. Fridays and Saturdays end at 9:15pm.
This upcoming summer session is only going to be five weeks due to the conversion. After this, summer sessions will be going back to their normal schedule.
A new change is the winter session with 15 days of classes for opportunities of getting field experience or studying abroad. This session will not be covered by financial aid.
Tom Provenzano, a theatre professor who has been coordinating curriculum, assured students that this process has been handled carefully.
Every department had to go through a procedure of changing, replacing, or deleting classes from the catalog entirely to make the transition smooth.
Eduardo Mendoza, the director of advising, told seniors who were graduating to see their advisors just in case something has changed and make sure you’re taking the right classes.
Advising will help you determine whether following the quarter or semester catalog will benefit you.
Nicolette Cusino, a financial aid advisor reminded students that financial aid will be disbursed in two parts instead of three and informed students to budget better especially if they plan on taking the winter intersession.
Amy Braceros, the Interim Director of the Registrar explained that even if students have less units to take under semesters, they still have to meet the 120 unit requirement.
“That’s an opportunity to take something else you’re interested in or something in your major to further your knowledge,” she said.
After the presentation, the panel opened the room for questions from students.
An in depth explanation about the semester class set up:
What Semester Programs are:
If you have a minor degree:
For Graduate Students:
Dr. Davidson Boyd, who is the Dean & Associate Vice President of the Office of Undergraduate Studies, shed some light on how the process is going to work.
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Dr. Gilbert, the General Education Coordinator and Psychology professor spoke about the transition from a teacher perspective and what’s going to come.
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Even though this information is supposed assure students that there are resources and ways to help you know where you stand academically, there’s resistance towards the change.
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