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A NUMBER OF U.S. HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS ARE CONVERTING FROM QUARTERTO SEMESTER-BASED ACADEMIC CALENDARS; IN FALL 2012, SEVENTEEN OHIO INSTITUTIONS DID SO. OVER A TWO-YEAR TIME PERIOD, COLLEGE STUDENT SAMPLES WERE RECRUITED FROM A LARGE, PUBLIC, URBAN, MIDWESTERN UNIVERSITY THAT WAS UNDERGOING A TRANSITION FROM A QUARTER-BASED TO A SEMESTER-BASED CALENDAR. RESULTS INDICATE THAT DURING THEIR LAST YEAR ON THE QUARTER CALENDAR, MOST STUDENTS FAVORED THAT SYSTEM AND PREDICTED LITTLE TO NO CHANGE IN THEIR MOTIVATION HEADING INTO SEMESTERS; BUT AFTER THEIR FIRST YEAR ON THE SEMESTER CALENDAR, THEIR FAVORITISM OF QUARTERS DECREASED. THIS MIXED METHODS STUDY ASSESSED COLLEGE STUDENTS' FAVORITISM OF QUARTERS AND SEMESTERS; THEIR PREDICTED AND PERCEIVED CHANGES TO THEIR MOTIVATED BEHAVIORS; AND THEIR SELF-REPORTED MOTIVATION. EVEN THOUGH MOST STUDENTS PERCEIVED LITTLE TO NO CHANGE IN THEIR MOTIVATION AFTER THE CONVERSION TO THE SEMESTER CALENDAR, THERE WAS A NOTICEABLE INCREASE IN THE PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS WHO REPORTED HAVING ADOPTED MALADAPTIVE BEHAVIORS AND BECOMING DE-MOTIVATED. DESPITE THIS INCREASE, A STATISTICAL INCREASE IN STUDENTS' SELFEFFICACY TOWARD THEIR COURSEWORK WAS ALSO OBSERVED. IMPLICATIONS OF THESE FINDINGS AND DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH ARE DISCUSSED.
Seventeen higher education institutions in Ohio converted from FUTURE RESEARCH quarter to semester systems in 2012-13 (Farkas 2012, Pyle 2009, Pyle 2012). Other institutions and systems that have undergone similar transitions include the Rochester Institute of Technology, California State University-Los Angeles, Auburn University, the University of Minnesota system, the Utah State system, and Northeastern University (Mayberry 2009). The decision to convert to a semester system is typically multifaceted (see Quann 1998), with rationales ranging from the financial to student transfer and curriculum, to name a few. The University System of Ohio (2012) identifies credit transfers as the greatest factor in the decision to make the change. Those who believe that all higher education institutions in Ohio should operate according to the same academic calendar contend that the change to a semester calendar would enable students to transfer credits more easily to different institutions within the state (Fingerhut 2010).
Despite the perceived benefits of converting to semesters, student motivation is rarely a primary focus of decision maldng about such a conversion; yet research indicates that achievement motivation may greatly influence students' learning outcomes. Motivation is defined as the process whereby goal-directed actions are...