On Monday, October 21, 2024, CSG South Senior Policy Analyst Cody Allen presented to the Georgia House Study Committee on Assessing the Semester and Quarter Systems at the University System of Georgia (USG) and the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) Institutions at the invitation of Committee Chairman, Representative Shaw Blackmon at the Georgia Military College in Milledgeville. The study examined whether the USG and TCSG transitions in 1999 and 2011 realized the anticipated benefits, such as the alignment of curricula within and across the systems to facilitate the transfer of courses, increase administrative efficiencies, and reduce administrative costs. However, lawmakers expressed concerns that the conversion from the quarter system to the semester system has resulted in longer terms with more classes and fewer graduation cycles and if there are better options for students or workforce development. As part of the study, Cody Allen presented on the public university systems that still operate on a quarters calendar – the University of California System and those in Oregon and Washington – as well as the CSG South’s own Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana.

Nationally, only approximately 5 percent of postsecondary institutions do not operate on semesters, which could potentially make transfers and articulation agreements difficult – as recognized by the University of California at Berkley opting out of the quarter system. While there has not been much of a legislative appetite to revert to quarters, Cody Allen shared promising legislation from Indiana, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Tennessee that aimed to align high school curricula with core college courses, simplify the transfer process, encourage more students to graduate and programs to be completed in three years or less, and recognize apprenticeships or other workforce credentials for college credits. In closing, he highlighted how the trend for reducing time-to-degree completion and preparing students for the workforce in the states appears to be towards ensuring credit recognition and better aligning all levels of the education system.

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