Fall 2012

• If you graduate before Fall 2012, you WILL NOT BE affected by the semester conversion.
• If you begin your studies prior to Fall 2012 on the quarter calendar and do not graduate before Fall 2012 you WILL BE AFFECTED by the change and will be considered a 'transition' student.
• Transition students can work in conjunction with an academic advisor to develop a Student Education Plan (SEP) to plan completion of degree requirements.

On the quarter system, the academic year is divided into three terms of 11 weeks each plus an 11-week summer session; on the semester system, the year is divided into two 16-week terms plus a 13-week summer session.

The University System of Ohio Strategic Plan for Higher Education has called for all Ohio state public institutions on the quarter system to strongly consider converting to a semester academic calendar. Semesters also provide several advantages to students, faculty, and staff such as:

• more time for learning course material;
• opportunity for faculty to update curriculum;
• reduces registration and financial aid activity to two times per year;
• more time for summer employment and internships;
• graduates can enter the work force earlier;
• brings Hocking College in line with other colleges and universities.

Careful planning is critical during this process. If it is possible to complete your program prior to the conversion please try to do so. Take advantage of summer session courses or increase your course load in order to stay on track and complete your program in two years. If you must complete coursework after the conversion to semesters be sure to work with an advisor and develop a plan for graduation.

SEP stands for Student Education Plan and is a specific advising plan for each student who started his or her coursework under quarters and will graduate under semesters. The plan should be carefully developed with an advisor from your department. The SEP will be stored electronically in Web Advisor and can be modified/updated as you progress towards graduation.

The exact courses needed to graduate for each program under the semester system will be available Fall 2011.

Please meet with your assigned academic advisor to lay out the remainder of required courses to ensure prompt graduation.

Under the quarter system the minimum number of credits to graduate is 90 credit hours; for semesters the minimum is 60 semester hours. NOTE: These requirements are the minimum for graduation. Some programs require additional hours.

In a quarter system most courses are three to four quarter credit hours. In a semester system, most courses are three semester credit hours.

Full-time status required a minimum of 12 credit hours on the quarter calendar and will require a minimum of 12 hours on the semester calendar. 15 semester hours is recommended to stay on track for graduation.

If you are currently on track for graduation the conversion should not affect your graduation date. It is important that you meet with an academic advisor and complete your Student Education Plan in order to stay on target for graduation.

The tuition and fees for one academic year of semesters (i.e. two semesters) will not exceed what the tuition and fees for one academic year of quarters (i.e. three quarters). However, it is important note that:

Under semesters, students will pay fees twice per year instead of three times per year.

Because a semester is about one and a half times the length of a quarter, charges for one semester will be approximately one and a half times higher than for one quarter.

If you receive financial aid, you will receive the same annual award amount; however, the amounts will be divided between two semesters rather than three quarters.

Students are subject to degree requirements as stated by the curriculum sheet for each program at the time of enrollment. If a student 'stops out' for more than one semester, the student is subject to the degree requirements stated on the curriculum sheet at the time of re-enrollment.

Students who wish to repeat quarter courses to improve their GPA should try to do so before Fall 2012. Some quarter courses may not have equivalent courses under semesters, and, therefore, will not be repeatable on the semester system. The content of some quarter courses may be dropped completely on the semester system or may be dispersed among several semester courses. Departments can review individual student requests to determine which semester course would replace a grade from the equivalent quarter course.

Equivalent semester courses may be substituted in those programs that permit students to substitute courses. Students should consult with a faculty advisor prior to enrollment in a substitute course. When a semester course replaces a quarter course, the semester credits replace the quarter credits. The college reserves the right to adjust course equivalencies as required by state agencies, licensing or accrediting boards, and certificate or degree requirements.

All transfer credits processed after Fall 2012 will be converted to semester credit.