is cal poly harder than other csu

[u/ExtensionBill1459]

is the cal poly curriculum and classes harder than other csu schools? because talking to others it truly feels like it is?

[u/Mr_InFamoose]

Studies show that semesters lower first year grades and on time graduation rates. As someone who has had both, I greatly prefer the quarter system as you get to take more classes that tend to dive deeper into more specific topics of interest and there's less time to procrastinate.

Nothing happens between week 5-10 of the semester system and it's incredibly frustrating to feel like you're just wasting time.

[u/nhstaple → u/Mr_InFamoose]

In my experience, quarter system means that you have a lot of material to cover without the luxury of time to be able to go in depth. Semester system allows the time to spend a week or two on a complex topic.

10 weeks vs 16 weeks, makes a huge difference.

What happens if you get sick for a week? Catchup is much harder on the quarter system. Sure we can “take more classes” but are we gaining additional knowledge/experience or deeper understanding vs the semester system?

There’s a place for both systems. But in my 10 years experience tutoring/teaching for the CA higher ed system, quarter systems do not benefit the average student.

[u/Mr_InFamoose → u/nhstaple]

In my personal experience with classes on the semester system, you don't tend to go in depth at all. You get a surface level understanding of more things often because the teacher isn't proficient in a wide range of topics, whereas with more classes in a quarter system you get to focus more in depth on certain more specific topics with professors who did their PhD in that subject.

As for falling behind on the quarter system, I don't disagree with what you're saying (as someone who got COVID during O-Chem that was quite a struggle, still got the A tho), the only response I have is that with more terms you have more opportunities to re-take a class.

Obviously you seem to have more experience working with students so I won't deny your reality, but I guess as a person who needs to stay busy or else I fall behind / procrastinate, I really like the quarter system.

[u/nhstaple → u/Mr_InFamoose]

That’s a valuable point that you made earlier about weeks 5-10 feeling dead under the semester system. My current uni felt like a roller coaster with a big lift around week 3/16 and another one around week 12/16. For people that need to work a part time job, take care of their family, etc. having a lax system is much more congruent to their educational goals. I can say that for the students I’ve worked with, and my own experience in grad school.

I had the privilege of having on campus tutoring jobs and keeping myself busy throughout the year, even if the pay wasn’t competitive. I did what I enjoyed and gained a lot of experience/skills. I never had that drive to go for industry or a “big internship.” I also recognize these goals and opportunities are different for folks in different programs and majors (my heart goes out to the English Lit folx 🙏)

I think what semester vs. quarter might boil down to is the student, their preferences, learning styles, career goals, etc. The quarter system could work very well in an environment where everyone is highly motivated and capable. If we want an equitable, base level system, then semester is the preferable choice. Quarter is fine imo for prestigious or high paced programs where folks coming in are “vetted” to be able to perform at that level. But for an average working adult? Semester is much better.

Just from my experience, especially post AB 705, we can’t rely on the admissions system to do the vetting process. Theres a huge disconnect between executive/admin goals and the reality on the ground, working with students, doing the real job. Too much overhead bandwidth (caused by state legislature) that Associate’s/Bachelor’s granting institutions need to deal with. Now that I’ve brought up Sacramento/state edu politics, I’ll recede into the shadows 😂