The University’s new scheduling system will bring more options for half-semester classes this spring.
ASU’s new academic calendar accommodates three class sessions — sessions A, B and C. Sessions A and B are seven and a half weeks, while C follows the normal 15-week schedule.
A total of 18 credit hours can be taken in one semester, with no more than nine credit hours per half session, said Pattie Lengel, assistant director for academic services of the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies.
Half-semester classes are not entirely new, and some are currently offered to students this fall. But next semester, more accelerated, half-semester courses will be available through the incorporation of these new sessions, Lengel said.
“They provide an opportunity to sort of strategically load your semester,” she said.
Lengel said students can use the new schedule options to load up the easier half of the semester with more classes if they know their session C classes will have difficult final projects.
“By the same token, people sometimes forget about that and load inappropriately in ways that are not designed to optimize their success,” she said.
Lengel advises students to consider the fact that half-semester classes are accelerated.
“I have had a few students this semester that took a seven-and-a-half-week course; in the first half and a week in, they realized how fast it was moving,” Lengel said. “They wanted out, and of course the withdrawal dates are very quick.”
English lecturer Sherry Rankins-Robertson will be teaching ENG 101 for sessions A, B and C next semester. She anticipates that the biggest challenge in her accelerated classes will be student participation and expectations.
“Many students come to accelerated courses expecting the course to be abbreviated,” she said in an email. “Because students receive the same credit in accelerated courses as they do in traditional courses, the course must cover the same content.”
The spring semester start and end dates have also been changed this year, with classes starting Jan. 5 and finals ending May 2. Last spring, classes began on Jan. 18 and finals ended on May 11.
According to ASU’s academic calendar information page, the changes were made to give students greater schedule flexibility, to extend the summer semester and to accommodate an increase in online programs.
Education sophomore Hillary Perkins is not planning to take any accelerated courses next semester, but thinks it is a good idea for other students.
“It is shorter so students don’t have to spend as much time in one class,” she said. “It would help with graduating on time.”
Lengel said the new schedule has both positives and negatives.
“I think students need to be far more thoughtful about how they are setting up the entire semester, as opposed to just selecting courses willy-nilly based on the times or the days,” she said.
Reach the reporter at newlin.tillotson@asu.edu
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