College Hall on March 18, 2023.
Credit: Abhiram JuvvadiAdvance registration has finished, and I can confirm that I am more stressed now than I was before. I came to Penn thinking that the College of Arts and Sciences’ liberal arts curriculum would be a fun way to explore other areas outside of my major. I did not expect it to feel more like a constraint rather than the interdisciplinary, flexible arena it’s supposed to be.
Thankfully, it seems that I haven’t been the only one worrying about the College’s requirements’ purpose and benefits. Administration has recently been pondering some changes: their main concern being that the current requirements don’t embrace the College’s mission of educating students in the liberal arts.
A liberal arts education is supposed to grant students breadth and depth of knowledge. Right now, however, it feels like the general requirements are just something we wish to get out of the way. They don’t feel enjoyable at all.
The quarter system is an academic system that divides the academic year into four periods of 10 weeks, out of which only three are mandatory. If the College administration is worried about the curriculum not aligning with the liberal arts’ flexibility and breadth features, the quarter system poses the perfect solution. Many universities, such as Northwestern University and the University of California, Los Angeles, use the quarter system, and students often come to the conclusion that a quarter system is (unexpectedly) better than the traditional semester.
Implementing the quarter system at Penn as a whole could have the same effect of allowing students more flexibility, breadth, and enhanced pre-professionalism — all features that align both with the College’s mission to commit to a liberal arts education and the overall University’s mission to promote leadership in interdisciplinary fields.
Moreover, the College administration is concerned about the decline in humanities majors. Similarly, trading passions for prestige has been a hot topic of discussion at Penn. Part of the problem is the dichotomy both College administration and students acknowledge: you either choose a financially rewarding career or a passion project. Yet, why does it have to be a dichotomy? The quarter system is inherently more flexible, and it would allow for students to pursue humanities majors while simultaneously pursuing classes that are more pre-professional.
With the quarter system — keeping the College's maximum course load rule of 5.5 course units per semester — students would be able to take 16.5 c.u. per academic year instead of 11 c.u. Penn offers right now. This would open up more room to explore all of their interests while fulfilling the general requirements. Stephen Wyer wrote in The Daily Bruin about how the quarter system allows students to step out of their comfort zone and even engage in research more efficiently.
Having the quarter system might even make general requirement classes more of a fun experience for students. I know I would enjoy my astronomy class even more if I knew I was not wasting the c.u. I’m supposed to use for my major’s requirements. The quarter system would give me more relief as it buys me time and room for my academic pursuits.
While there might be a valid concern about rushing through material because of less time, many quarter system students have told me this is not at all true. Rather, they give great remarks about the advantages. Drexel University student Poppy Martinez said she “prefers it over the semester system because it resembles the workplace system and has given her great time management skills aside from the flexibility it offers.” Catherine Campbell-Perna, admissions counselor and Drexel alumna, said “if I had a choice between a quarter and a semester system, I would take the quarter system in a second.” Campbell-Perna also refers to the less stressful final exam environment quarter systems create.
If breadth and flexibility is what College is after, there’s no doubt that the quarter system is an interesting possibility. It is a great system for those who have too many interests or are unsure of what area to focus on. It offers a solution to students in the College to fulfill all the requirements whilst opening the academic avenue. It is definitely something worth pondering on as it can revolutionize the academic experience at Penn.
MARIANA MARTINEZ is a College first year studying English and classical studies from Bogotá, Colombia. Her email is marmari@sas.upenn.edu.
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