Documents

  • Credit Hour Comparison Graph (67 Kb PDF)
    Ohio State has pledged that students completing a semester degree program will receive approximately the same amount of instruction as under a quarter calendar.
  • Sample Semester Class Schedule (18 Kb XLS)
    In most cases, students will be encouraged to take 5 courses per semester to stay on track to graduate, but course load will depend on program of study and individual circumstances. Stay in close contact with your advisor to plan for the transition.
  • Sample Semester Class Schedule for First Year Student (18 Kb XLS)
    This is a possible schedule for a new first year student. In most cases, our new first year students will take five courses each semester. The schedule shown, however, provides for four classes, for a total of 15 credits. Most semester courses will be thr

Take 5

5 classes per term will be the new average

To ensure timely graduation, it is very important to remember that, in most cases, you will need to take five courses each semester.

  1. Over the longer span of a semester you will have more time in which to read and write and learn (and you may have a bit more flexibility in trying to catch up if you fall behind).
  2. Most classes will meet two or three times per week, for slightly longer class periods than they now do.
  3. More classes will meet on Fridays.
  4. You will need to carry more classes during a semester (typically, five three-hour classes, for students in programs that will require 120 credits) if you intend to complete a degree in four years. Taking more classes may well require more discipline in balancing competing academic demands and in effectively using the longer times between classes and assignments.
  5. Scheduling more classes over the course of a term may present a challenge if you are trying to schedule all of your classes on the same days, to leave open blocks of time for a job. It will be best to plan to work a reasonable number of hours, distributed over the week (and weekend), especially during your first couple of semesters.
  6. As you review these sample schedules, think about how you might fit a work schedule into your week.

Questions and Answers

Q: How will registering for classes under Semesters be different?
A: There will be a number of procedures (scheduling, for example) that you will only need to do twice, rather than three times, during the regular academic year. This also means, however, that you will have fewer opportunities to choose the correct classes, compensate for a misstep (a failed or dropped course, or a change in your major), or take the electives you most want. It will, in consequence, be as important as ever to take advantage of your assigned priority for scheduling by enrolling early during your enrollment appointment.

Q: Are students able to take a full-time load of course work at anytime during semesters?
A: Technically the system will allow students to enroll in 12 credit-hours (which is full-time status) for ANY session. However, taking 12 hours during May Session or during a 7-week session would not be recommended or encouraged.

Q: What is full-time status in semesters?
A:

Undergraduate Full Time 3/4 Time Half Time Part Time
Credit Hours 12+ 9-11 6-8 1-5