BYU-Hawaii recently changed its semester schedule to be more cost effective and use tithing funds more efficiently. Jennifer Lane, Associate Academic VP for Curriculum, said, “We’ve been working on this for years; it has been a gradual process. Our goal is to have the students succeed and also use the resources we have effectively.” Lane answered questions on how the change will affect students:Q: What is the major difference with the flexible semesters?A: “It is now flexible for everyone,” said Lane, “which is something we could not say before.” Now domestic students, international, and iWork students all have the choice of how they want to design their semester schedules. They can choose from many options such as taking a leave semester off, an internship or online classes. Q: How will this change affect scholarships?A: “In the past the university looked at the prior semester to determine your scholarship status. With the new flexible semesters, the status is determined by your current semester. Once you are enrolled and meet the scholarship requirements you are eligible to receive it. As long as students are registered for classes, we are just looking forward for scholarships eligibility. In 2014, it was not like that and it is something we wanted to change.” Q: Will I be required to attend all three semesters?A: “Efficiency is important but we do not want to burn people out,” said Lane. “International and iWork students need to take at least two full time semesters before they can take a semester off, but they are given the choice to take a semester off which they didn’t have before. To guarantee a spot during a semester, students must RSVP at least one semester before the start date. Just registering for classes will be considered an RSVP.”Q: Why change Fall semester so it lasts from Aug-Nov and Winter from Nov-Feb?A: “A big part of it was teacher retention and figuring out what works best with local schools. These dates match up with the local schools calendar and still allow a two-week break for Christmas. The professors all had a vote on the new dates and decided that is what would work best for them.”Lane and Careers Services did research and found most internships want students from March to October. The flexible semesters allow the students to take advantage of these internships. Q: What are some potential drawbacks to the new flexible semesters?A: “This program and schedule has been a process and the school and administration has been operating on a trial and error kind of system. But they believe this is a system that will be sustainable and most beneficial to all. One of the major drawbacks for us is the lack of certainty of how the system will work. We are trying to balance stability for the campus and flexibility for the students and staff. There is a lack of stability and knowing going into the new semester.” With the new system, students can decide how to proceed with their education and at what pace. Students are still held to the nine semesters, but they do not have to be consecutive. Uploaded May 22, 2015
Writer: Trenton McCullough
