<p>“Standard load in a semester system is generally 4 courses, 3 hours a week, for 15 weeks…” </p>
<p>Are you sure? Back in the dark ages when I went to school (and walked up-hill 5 miles each way in 8 feet of snow <g>) 12 credit-hours per semester was the minimum permitted for full-time status. Almost everyone took at least 15 credit-hours per semester. In engineering, the average was about 17.</g></p>
<p>BTW, the discussion so far hasn’t mentioned summer semester. Several schools on the semester system offer this option. It is half the length of regular semesters, but classes meet for twice as long. It was my favorite semester. Classes were smaller and everything seemed easier. We didn’t have midterms for most summer semester classes, an added benefit.</p>