The Countdown Begins
Semester Conversion Takes Place in August
By Ken Reed
Even as College of DuPage continues planning for its historic switch this fall from quarters to semesters, college officials are already exploring exciting partnerships with semester-based baccalaureate-granting institutions and area high schools that will launch new avenues of education for many students.
No single overwhelming reason prompted C.O.D.’s switch, according to Chris Picard, C.O.D. vice president for Academic Affairs. But he noted there were “thousands of small reasons to convert, many of them having to do with how we correspond with the rest of the academic community.”
C.O.D.’s conversion to semesters this August, Picard said, will bring the college into alignment
with not only other community colleges, but also four-year transfer institutions and area high schools.
One four-year institution, Northern Illinois University, welcomes C.O.D.’s conversion decision.
“I see C.O.D.’s conversion benefiting students because transferable courses from C.O.D. will now transfer to NIU and match more closely,” said Missy Gillis, coordinator of NIU’s Transfer Center. “The conversion will also eliminate students being caught in the middle of a three-series course.
“C.O.D. and NIU have had strong working relationships for several years,” said Gillis, who noted that 273 C.O.D. students transferred to NIU in fall 2004. “We work closely with one another in an effort to facilitate a smooth transfer. C.O.D. is, by far, our number one transfer institution.”
Picard said that C.O.D.’s conversion makes possible many things that may not have been impossible before, but were much more difficult to accomplish logistically. For example, while the college already offers dual enrollment in which high school students take C.O.D. classes for credit, the conversion will allow the college to target specific groups of students for career classes. Those classes could include areas such as Automotive Service Technology, Fashion Merchandising and Design, or even some of the college’s core academic offerings.
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Picard noted that C.O.D. has also been in discussion with high schools about the development of high-end academic programs designed to attract the brightest area students to participate in dual enrollment opportunities.
Moreover, the college has explored joint offerings with the Technology Center of DuPage in Addison that will speed students toward college degrees.
“All this becomes possible once we transition to semesters,” said Picard.
While C.O.D.’s conversion to semesters will provide a smooth, seamless path for students to transfer to four-year institutions, most of which are on the semester system, the college also envisions other partnership opportunities with these universities.
“We are exploring partnerships that would be deeper than just a transfer to a four-year institution,” said Picard. “We’re looking for ways to offer joint programming where students would actually attend both institutions simultaneously. Students would reap some tuition benefit from this arrangement and also smooth the path for transfer in a number of different ways.”
Semester-based instruction offers another important advantage, according to Picard. He noted that because time commitments are less intense in a semester system than in quarters, C.O.D. faculty will be able to explore subjects in greater depth. Picard, who has taught simultaneously at quarter- and semester-based institutions, said that he was able to assign more reading during the semester format because his students had a longer time to process the material.
“A student probably is only going to read a certain number of pages a night, and if you have 16 weeks to work with, as opposed to 10 weeks, you can get more pages in for students. So, consequently, I was able to assign reading that I thought had greater scope, depth and meaning in my literature and composition classes.
“Students need a certain amount of time just to internalize ideas,” he said. “And if the ideas are coming at them too quickly, they haven’t fully internalized one idea before they have to build on it with the next idea. So a semester format just gives students more processing time.”
While Picard notes that the rhythm of the semester will be more leisurely, the college will also offer more intense sections during the semester for students who want to finish in a very timely manner.
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C.O.D. is also planning five- and eight-week terms during the summer. “This will offer an opportunity for ‘bounce-back’ students, those students who are currently enrolled at four-year universities, who want to pick up a course or two during the summer,” said Picard.
For more information about C.O.D.’s conversion to semesters, students can call the college’s Counseling and Advising Services (630) 942-2259, contact their faculty advisers directly, or visit this web site: www.cod.edu/semester1.
While Picard notes that the rhythm of the semester will be more leisurely, the college will also offer more intense sections during the semester for students who want to finish in a very timely manner.
C.O.D. is also planning five- and eight-week terms during the summer. “This will offer an opportunity for ‘bounce-back’ students, those students who are currently enrolled at four-year universities, who want to pick up a course or two during the summer,” said Picard.
For more information about C.O.D.’s conversion to semesters, students can call the college’s Counseling and Advising Services (630) 942-2259, contact their faculty advisers directly, or visit this web site: www.cod.edu/semester1.
Logo Tales
Subtly woven into College of DuPage’s ubiquitous semester conversion logo is a muted message noting the college’s historic switch from its fall, winter and spring quarters format to two semesters.
The familiar red logo, which alerts all readers to semester conversion information, appears on myriad college publications and web sites as the college continues to plan a comprehensive and seamless conversion process for present and future students.
Much like the Big Ten athletic conference logo, which cleverly incorporates the number “11” for eleven conference teams, or College of DuPage’s own official logo, which illustrates, artfully, a “lamp of learning,” the red conversion logo, designed by Viktor Antipenkov, C.O.D. graphic and web designer, contains its own latent message.
The logo displays three curving ribbons (signifying the college’s fall, winter and spring quarters), which meet and then creatively swirl out and up as two ribbons (the new fall and spring semester format).
Semester Conversion Retains Non-credit Classes
While the semester conversion at College of DuPage will significantly impact the content and scheduling of credit classes, non-credit offerings will not experience similar changes.
“We will continue to offer the same volume of non-credit classes in the semester format,” said Joyce Abel, C.O.D. executive director of Business, Professional and Continuing Education.
“Non-credit courses do not need to be adjusted to meet the new semester term since they are offered in a variety of time frames,” said Abel. “The community will continue to be able to take non-credit courses that are offered for businesses, professionals, adult enrichment, older adults and youth.”
Abel noted that under the semester format, community residents will receive three Class Schedules, rather than four Class Schedule schedules under the quarter format. She reminds residents to keep and reference the Class Schedule throughout the semester for late start class offerings, especially during the January through May period.
For information on non-credit business, computer and health care classes, visit this web site: www.cod.edu/bpi. For information on the Continuing Education area and its non-credit classes for adults, older adults and youth, visit www.cod.edu/conted.
