<p>I’m not entirely sure I understand how this works. Does it extend over the summer?</p>
<p>in theory, yes, in practice, no.</p>
<p>The idea behind the quarter system was to make it easier for kids to continue education year round, since a summer quarter could be the same length as a regular quarter, not true for a summer semester. </p>
<p>In practice, few kids attend summer quarter and the course offerings are weak.</p>
<p>The offerings are weak not the courses, in case newmassdad was misunderstood. S took a summer course and found it to be quite good. </p>
<p>Chicago also has a graduation ceremony every quarter, not just in the spring. This was done to take the emphasis off a particular timeline to graduation. I received my graduate degree in March, if I recall correctly. Quarters make it easier to mix and match the number of courses taken in a year. It is possible to take less than 4 years to graduate, just take 4 courses a quarter, or it can take longer than 4 years, take 3 courses a quarter. Most stagger 3 one year, 4 the next, but there are other combinations including summer courses.</p>
<p>idad, </p>
<p>The range of offerings is weak, agreed. Whether or not an individual course is strong or weak depends on who is teaching.</p>
<p>As always! :)</p>