QUARTER SYSTEM VS. SEMESTER

With the disruption of the S. A. T. C. and the reorganization of college life in January, an opportunity was offered for the introduction of the quarter system now in force. Practically two-thirds of the college year remained, and the continuation of the old semester plan was clearly an impossibility. It was with that fact in mind that undergraduates accepted the new system, as a necessity and awaited developments.

The advantages of the short term quickly became apparent, but as time went on unwelcome features also began to impress themselves upon the student body. Viewed favorably, the new system gives opportunity for a wider variety in choice of subjects. It diminishes the consequences of a single failure, and, through the possible introduction of a summer quarter, points toward new chances for making up lost credit and securing an early graduation. For men whose college records have been upset by war service, the new system seems the most logical method of straightening out all difficulties.

On the other hand, the existence of unfavorable aspects in the new plan must be acknowledged. The average undergraduate is apt to find two months and a half altogether too short a time to allow for a complete grasp of any subject. Under the present conditions, courses must either be deprived of much of their value through compression into a single short period or be unduly prolonged through two full terms. The only other alternative is a complete revision of all subjects offered.

To the undergraduate the new system seems to have brought with it additional work, but the college as a whole has shown an almost surprising willingness to accept the extra burden. As yet the student body is not ready to express itself upon the subject. Whether or not the quarter system is to be established as a permanent change for the better remains to be seen.