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Quarter system offers a taste of many classes to whet learning palate

By Daniel Feeney

Sept. 30, 2009 9:59 p.m.

During finals week this quarter, many of us at UCLA will look with envy to our friends on the semester system. Aside from this resentment, people sometimes express their distaste for the quarter system for causing an accelerated pace and a perceived lack of in-depth study. While the quarter system certainly has its flaws, it allows for students to experiment with a variety of classes and have a generally more expansive learning experience while at the university.

Students who operate under a semester system have two 15-week academic periods during the regular school year, while quarter students have three 10-week periods. Students on the quarter system have shorter courses, but they have more opportunities to rotate between classes. With the quarter system, we have the opportunity to take three to four classes a quarter or more, depending on how heavy we want our course load to be.

Beyond the possibility of exploring classes is the unfortunate fact that classes can be unexpectedly tedious or poorly taught. With such short quarters, the pain of a class is quick and sharp, rather than long and equally tedious. Of course, this also means your favorite courses don’t last very long, but you do have more opportunities to take more classes in similar areas with varied professors.

Students and professors may sometimes dislike the quarter system because it has a quickened pace and may cause certain concepts to be abridged. Although some concepts may be shortened, professors often simply require students to keep up with an increased pace or schools require they take an extra class to expand on a subject. For many students, this quickened pace is not always negative. It can cause students to work harder and it tends to keep some students, myself especially, from slacking off during breaks in the academic period. Those students who prefer a faster pace and don’t mind having fewer tests can thrive on the quarter system, while others might rightly prefer the semester system.

The quarter system also aids students’ decisions on choosing a major and on whether or not they can double-major or double-minor. Going to college, few people have a solid idea of what their major will be; those who do rarely stick with their initial major. Students have the opportunity to take at least nine classes a year, often more. With all the classes available to sample, they can try different majors and even have two majors or minors with relative ease.

Students then, instead of being pigeonholed into one subject, have the ability to choose freely between areas. UCLA has 127 majors and 77 minors; the ability to sample and take classes from different departments increases in the quarter system.

With a system that allows for diversity of classes, there is also the possibility of more varied courses of study. Jon Kuo, a second-year chemistry student with a minor in classical civilization, is just one example of the possible combinations that the quarter system helps to facilitate.

“It’s much faster and easier to get out of classes that you don’t like,” Kuo said. “My friends at UC Berkeley, they always complain that they don’t have a lot of choice. But I have gotten to take any class that I really wanted.”

Furthermore, the university, by offering three quarters instead of two semesters, helps students who might otherwise have trouble getting into classes. Students who do not get into a course at the beginning of the year, for example, have two more chances to get in that year. This is helpful when you wish to take pre-requisite classes earlier so you can take other classes later in the year.

Of course, the quarter system is not without its flaws. With many colleges on the semester system, some internships or summer jobs can be harder for quarter-system students to get because they are still in school while many jobs or internships are starting. Students in the quarter system may also be hard-pressed to absorb material that is presented to them at such a fast pace.

Ultimately, though, academic benefits seem to outweigh the problems. And quarter-system students still get internships, while learning can be just as difficult for semester students.

The quarter system provides opportunities that allow for a wide range of learning possibilities for students. While the choice between the two systems may come down to slight preference for some, for others the quarter system proves to be a great aid in efficient and varied study.

E-mail Feeney at [email protected]. Send general comments to [email protected].

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