Can anyone explain quarter vs. semester credits

[nnicolee]

I've been looking at a lot of out of state nursing programs and came upon OHSU which uses quarter credits (not semester). I'm really confused about this so if anyone could explain it to me, I'd really appreciate it.

Their program requires

Anatomy and Physiology - 12 quarter credits: A full sequence of human anatomy and physiology with laboratory, inclusive of all body systems. This sequence must be taken in its entirety. The first term of A&P must be completed prior to application to the nursing program; the full sequence must be taken prior to the first nursing course. Note: Chemistry or Biology may be required prior to the A&P sequence at some colleges/universities; please check individual college requirements.

Nutrition - 3 quarter credits: Class should cover biological functions, dietary sources of essential nutrients and the relationship of diet to health.

Written English/English Composition (WR 121 & 122 or equivalent) - 6 quarter credits: Class should involve the development and support of ideas through the medium of written English. Remedial English such as sentence structure and punctuation will not be accepted as sufficient to meet the prerequisite. These courses are preparation for scientific or technical writing, which will be required later in the nursing program. Applicants who have completed a non-nursing bachelor's degree in an Englich speaking country can use it to meet this requirement. However, additional elective credit may be needed for graduation.

Humanities Electives - 3 quarter credits (recommended for the B.S. degree): Any humanities course that meets the general prerequisite standard can meet this requirement. Specific options include courses from the following departments: History of Art, Art Appreciation, History of Music, Music Appreciation, English Literature, Linguistics, Philosophy, Communication, Journalism, Religion, Speech and Theater Arts, Foreign Language, & Women's Studies.

Social Science Electives - 6 quarter credits: Selection of these electives may serve as a foundation for a focused area of study. Specific options include courses from the following departments: Anthropology, Economics, History, Political Science, Psychology, Business, Criminology, and Sociology.

Human Development - 3 quarter credits: The developmental process of human life covering the full life span. Courses that cover only a part of the life span will not be accepted.

Other Electives to meet 45 total quarter credits of prerequisites - as needed: These courses can be any course(s) that meet the general prerequisite standard.

If I complete A&P I (4 semester credits), A&P II (4 semester credits), Nutrition (3 semester credits), ENG 101 & ENG 102 (6 semester credits), PHI 101 (3 semester credits), POL SCI (3 semester credits), PSY 101 (3semester credits), developmental psy (3 semester credits) and 12 elective semester credits is that equivalent to quarter credits???

[caliotter3]

I remember this from my transfer transcipts: I was given full credit for the equivalent courses, even if the number of credit hours was short due to the conversion factor. Not to worry. I never had to take extra classes to make up the shortage. HTH

[serasarah18]

I went to a school on the quarter system. Instead of 2 semesters within a year, it's divided up into three 10 week quarters (fall, winter and spring). So one quarter is a little bit less than one semester. I actually had trouble converting this into semester units since most schools go by this system. I took classes at a community college that had semester units to avoid this potential mess. I didn't want to do any repeats even though we covered the same amount of material in a quarter. I'm actually surprised you found a school with quarter units. I would have been so happy if I saw that.

[bluechick112, BSN, MSN, RN]

Hi! I think I can help you out. I was looking at schools nation-wide and also ran across schools that used quarter units.

The answer is 1.5 quarter credits per semester credit. Think about taking a one year course that has 3 units per class. You will take three classes of 3 units each in a quarter system (for 9 credits), but in a semester system you take two classes of 3 credits (for 6 semester credits). The class time is the same, so 9 quarter credits equals 1 semester credits.

This means that you should multiply quarter credits by 2/3 to see how many semester credits it equals.

I had to use the following conversion chart, which tells you how many quarter units equals a semester unit:

http://www.csulb.edu/divisions/aa/grad_undergrad/aac/tools/unit_conv/

I hope this helps you out!