Cal Poly’s switch from quarters to semesters this school year resulted in a shorter summer where students had to return in August instead of September.
Students working internships are often required to be there for a set amount of weeks. This caused time conflicts with the start of school because students began their internships in June.
“I have a couple of them that, by contract, needed to stay a few more weeks during work during the summer,” said mechanical engineering professor Arturo Cajal.
The new semester catalogs are also causing a change with the standard unit count per class not being three instead of four.
This has caused some students such as fourth year kinesiology major Melanie Couch to have their graduation timelines pushed back by being unable to take her required major classes.
“I’m graduating fall of next year… technically I have two quarters left… four classes for winter quarter, four classes for spring quarter, but that’s not really a thing anymore…” said Couch.
The new schedule has students taking each class for a longer time, as terms shifted to 15 weeks in length. This can require a more intense, sustained effort from students who are also taking more classes each term.
”The unit count is a lot more stuffed now. You’re taking a lot more work for a longer amount of time,” said senior aerospace engineering student Sebastian Cosme-Reyes.
For others, such as Gianna Frisella, it helped her get ahead.
After starting at Cal Poly last year, the change to semesters allowed the fourth year history major to complete her major requirements much quicker and move up her timeline towards graduation.
“I did my first year last year, on the quarter system and then this year on the semester. It actually helped me like get ahead,” said senior history student Gianna Frisella.
In terms of the semester experience, the extra weeks give professors more time to teach the students using practice problems and real–world examples.
“Now we have a little more time to kind of play with practice problems, assignments and why not,” said mechanical engineering professor Arturo Cajal.
Yet smaller changes were felt across campus such as the loss of poly time, where all classes start ten minutes past the hour.
“I know a lot of students have gotten used to it… that also has conflicts with work and when previous employees come in and when they leave,” said senior aerospace engineering student Sebastian Cosme-Reyes. “So it’s changing a lot of things.”
Despite the rough transition, semesters are here to stay. The change is part of the institution’s initiative to strengthen their alignment with the other California State University campuses, which has been planned since 2021.
“I think it’s a good change overall. I think we can enhance the opportunities for the students to enjoy internships all around,” said mechanical engineering professor Arturo Cajal.