The Chancellor’s Office of the California State University system is set to offer potential financial support to Cal State East Bay for converting from a quarter system to a semester system. While the amount of assistance CSUEB will receive from the Chancellor’s Office is unknown, it is anticipated that 75 percent of the costs associated with the conversion will be covered, according to Glen Perry, assistant vice president of Special Projects at CSUEB.

A Fit/Gap Analysis is being compiled to determine the cost of the conversion and how much assistance will be provided from the Chancellor’s Office. The analysis will be an examination of curriculum opportunities anticipated and what would need to change for the campus to operate in a similar or better manner, Perry said. The costs will be reviewed and the Chancellor’s Office will discuss what it is willing to invest in.  

If CSUEB wants to make changes that are not associated with the conversion to enhance the campus, the cost of those changes will not be included in the monetary assistance provided, Perry explained. While the campus will be receiving assistance to proceed with this three-year conversion process, there is “no built-in monetary incentive to make the change [from quarters to semester sessions],” Perry said. Only the direct cost associated in making the transition will be provided.

CSUEB will have completely converted from the academic schedule 10-week quarter sessions to 15-week semester sessions by fall 2018. The process is part of a system-wide initiative to convert the entire CSU system to one common calendar, says Elizabeth Chapin, public affairs web communication specialist for the CSU Office of the Chancellor.

“[The conversion] will help eliminate difficulties with partnerships and programs between quarter and semester campuses,” Chapin explained.

Transfer students at CSUEB make up close to 70 percent of the student population, which is nearly 10 percent higher than the average for the entire system, Perry explained. SB 1440, signed into legislation on Sept. 29, 2010, requires CSUs to admit students from California Community Colleges who completed an Associate’s Degree as a transfer student of junior year status.  The Associate Degree for Transfer program exists at both quarter and semester schools.

Having CSUEB on the semester system, LeBaron Woodyard, dean in the Academic Affairs Division for the CCC, explained, “doesn’t make a difference, as far as transfers are concerned.” Woodyard was also unaware CSUEB was being converted from quarters to semesters.

Nearby Chabot Community College and Las Positas Community College have recently switched from quarters to semesters. Previous to that conversion, “being on quarters made us a logical transfer for CCCs on quarters,” Perry explained. CSUEB is not receiving a head-count incentive for transfer students, however the campus does benefit monetarily from tuition paid by students, as tuition costs cover running the school, according to Perry.

It is not anticipated that the cost of yearly tuition will increase due to the semester conversion, according to the Semester Conversion Pledge to our Students. Available to students on the CSUEB website, the pledge claims that the cost of three quarters tuition will be equal to the total cost of two semesters. The price, Perry said, will just be divided into two larger payments. Perry also claimed there is a possibility that having two semesters instead of three quarters will reduce the overall cost of running the school.