Greetings from the Office of Provost at Wright State University! My name is Dr. Herbert Dregalla, and since January 2011, I have been working as the Director of Semester Conversion here at Wright State. It is an exciting time at Wright State University, and I am honored to be working in this position, helping guide the university into the semester system in fall, 2012.
As an alumnus of Wright State, you probably have heard about this conversion. This process started almost 4 years ago, when the Ohio Board of Regents asked all 2-year and 4-year state universities on the quarter system to consider converting to the more common semester system. A university committee was formed to consider this request, and after careful consideration, a decision was made to convert.
Wright State University will move to a semester system beginning in fall, 2012. The semester system divides the year into 3 terms (fall, spring, summer) instead of the 4 terms (fall, winter, spring, summer) that we have currently. Ohio State University, Ohio University, the University of Cincinnati, and all the 2-year state universities are also converting to the semester system. This conversion will therefore bring Wright State into alignment with all of the 2-year and 4-year state universities in Ohio, and with over 90 percent of the colleges and universities in the United States.
The major reason for the conversion is "transferability." The State of Ohio is eager to have more citizens with university degrees. Having all state universities on the same system will allow students who begin their academic studies at one university to more easily transfer credits to another university. There are many reasons why a particular student might want to consider this. One such example is the student, who for financial reasons wants to begin at a local university and then transfer to another for a particular academic program. Another example is the non-traditional student whose job is relocated to another city. Having a common system, which will ease the transfer between universities, will therefore allow increased opportunities for Ohio citizens to graduate with a university degree.
As you might imagine, this is a major undertaking for Wright State University. A lot has happened. A good deal more is being done currently.
The conversion impacts virtually every component of the university:
- All courses needed to be converted.
- All programs (majors, minors, certificates, endorsements, etc.) needed to be reviewed and converted to the semester system.
- All processes and procedures, websites, materials, and systems needed to be reviewed and converted to the new semester calendar.
A major consideration for the university was to design a plan to ensure that transition students (students who began on the quarter system, but who will graduate on the semester system) would not be adversely impacted by the conversion. To this end, Wright State University pledged:
- Consistent application of credit: Credits that apply to a student's program before the semester conversion will continue to apply after the conversion.
- On-time graduation: Students will graduate in the same time frame as they would have had Wright State remained on the quarter system.
- No increased costs: The annual tuition and fees under the semester system will not be greater than they would be if Wright State continued on the quarter system.
Wright State has also provided a great many resources for students. Foremost is an electronic system called a MAP (My Advising Plan) where each student, in consultation with their academic advisor, can design a personalized term-by-term degree map moving toward graduation and including the provisions outlined in the Wright State University Pledge to Students.
More information about the Semester Conversion can be found on the WSU Semester website: http://www.wright.edu/semesters/
As the Director of Semester Conversion, I can assure you that Wright State University is working very hard to make sure this conversion is seamless and smooth for everyone impacted. I believe we are in very good shape, and I look forward to the remaining months as we lead up to August 27, 2012, the first day of Fall Semester, 2012.
Very sincerely
Herbert E. Dregalla, Jr., Ph.D.
Director of Semester Conversion