A bit of history

CUCFA has sent out the notice below:

We write to inform you that at UCOP’s request, the Academic Planning Council (APC) has convened a joint Senate-Administration workgroup focused on the possibility of a common systemwide semester calendar. You can see its charge, composition, and plans here. The workgroup aims to issue its report in Spring 2025.

While the charge refers to a “common” calendar, UCOP’s background paper makes clear that the impetus behind this initiative is to make seven campuses that teach on a quarter system shift to the semester system adopted by two. Systemwide Senate leadership has further confirmed that the workgroup’s report and recommendations will not be put to a vote by each divisional Senate. Rather, each division will be invited to provide comments that the systemwide Senate will then share with the APC and UCOP, as well as the Board of Regents, who are the ultimate decision-making body.

Needless to say, the impacts of such a change—logistically, administratively, financially, on student learning outcomes and faculty/staff working conditions—are potentially massive. As we currently understand the process, there is no guaranteed opportunity for faculty to accept or reject these changes; instead, we can only provide comments and input via the workgroup...

Full notice with opportunity for input at https://cucfa.org/2025/01/common-systemwide-calendar-workgroup/.

Some background: Back in the 1960s, when an influx of baby boomers was looming, the quarter system was adopted with the notion that with four quarters, i.e., year-round operation, UC could save on the capital expenditures needed to cope with the influx. Every program and course had to be converted from a semester format to a quarter format. But then in turned out that students didn't want to attend in the summer. So the quarter system failed to be the panacea for enrolling the baby boom. If anything, it was somewhat wasteful because it extended the three-quarter year due to the need for two intersessions rather than one. 

Still, there wasn't a lot of sentiment for going through another exercise of converting every course and program back to semesters. Only Berkeley eventually did it. Merced, which was created long after the 1960s, also operates on semesters. Some parts of UCLA, e.g., law, use the semester format, which creates complications when students are in joint programs, e.g., Law-MPP.