WSU hosts Semester Summit

Nearly 400 individuals from 19 schools that are transitioning from quarters to semesters attended the 2009 Ohio Semesters Summit at Wright State on October 14.

The public and private, two-year and four-year institutions moving to a semester-based calendar sent teams of representatives to share ideas, plans and processes, triumphs and challenges as they move forward. Attendees also heard presentations from other colleges and universities who have successfully transitioned from quarters to semesters.

All aspects of the semester conversion were discussed at the summit, from new Ohio Board of Regents initiatives inspired by the statewide move to semesters to the details of creating a transition budget and timeline. There were two themes that permeated all the sessions: the unique opportunity to transform the curriculum and the need to make the transition as straightforward as possible for students.

“The highlight was a panel presentation by Andy Jorgensen, Fred Law, and Terry Glass, who led semester conversions at the University of Toledo, Lakeland Community College, and Central State, respectively,” said Thomas Sudkamp, co-chair of the Exploratory Committee on the Transition from Quarters to Semesters and president of Wright State’s faculty. “They shared tips on what proved successful and where they saw opportunities for improvement. Most importantly, they all agreed that the transition can be accomplished smoothly and, after the ordeal, their campuses were all happy that they made the change.”

“The summit was a tremendous success—so successful, in fact, that attendees have already requested a follow-up summit in the spring focused on faculty development and pedagogy and how faculty might best use the semester transition to transform the curriculum,” said Lillie Howard, senior vice president for curriculum and instruction and co-chair of the Exploratory Committee on the Transition from Quarters to Semesters. “We will continue to work with our colleagues across the state to plan such a summit. Wright State, meantime, continues to be widely recognized across the state for its leadership role in bringing together all of the Ohio institutions moving to a semester calendar. As one summit attendee said, ‘The knowledge gained from this dynamic learning experience [was] invaluable.’ Obviously, together, we are getting it done!”