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An academic quarter refers to the division of an academic year into four parts, found in a minority of universities in the United States and in some European and Asian countries. ==Background and trends== In the United States, quarters typically comprise 10 weeks of class instruction,〔(''Practice Resources'', NAFSA: Association of International Educators )〕 although they have historically ranged from eight to 13 weeks.〔(Kemp Malone, '' 'Semester' '', American Speech, Dec. 1946, p. 264 )〕 Academic quarters first came into existence as such when William Rainey Harper organized the University of Chicago on behalf of John D. Rockefeller in 1891. Harper decided to keep the school in session year-round and divide it into four terms instead of the then-traditional two.〔 Of the four traditional academic calendars (semester, quarter, trimester, and 4-1-4), the semester calendar is used the most widely, at over 60% of U.S. higher learning institutions, with fewer than 20% using the quarter system.〔(''Report of the 1998-99'' ad hoc ''Calendar Committee'', Northeastern University, July 30, 1999 )〕 This number has stayed fairly constant since 1930, when 75% of U.S. institutions surveyed indicated they used a semester plan, with 22% on the quarter system.〔(H.W. James, ''The Semester versus the Quarter'', Journal of Higher Education, Oct. 1930, p. 38 )〕 During the 1960s, a number of U.S. statewide educational systems made a switch from a semester to quarter system, typically in an attempt to accommodate the Tidal Wave I enrollment boom, most prominently the University of California system.〔(''Debate: Semesters or Quarters'', UCLA Faculty Senate Voice, Apr. 2003 (iss. 3) )〕 Since then, UC Berkeley switched back to semesters in 1983,〔(Harlan Lebo, ''Semester vs. quarter?'', UCLA Today, 2002 )〕 the new UC Merced branch opened with the semester system, and some UC professional schools have switched back to semesters at various points.〔(UCLA Academic Senate, ''Academic Calendar: Semester or Quarter?'', Feb. 19, 2002 )〕 At various points since, committees have been established and official discussions have taken place within the UC system to discuss a systemwide switch back to the semester system.〔〔(Chris Ziegler, ''Faculty Considers Switch from Quarter to Semester'', (University of California, Santa Barbara) Daily Nexus, Jan. 29, 1990 (reprinted Jan. 29, 2007) )〕 In recent years, a number of higher education institutions have considered or already approved a switch to a semester system including the higher education systems of Ohio〔(Rich Rouan, ''OU Ready to Consider Switch to Semesters'', Columbus Dispatch, June 26, 2008 )〕〔(''University of Cincinnati planning switch to semesters'', Business Courier of Cincinnati, Apr. 29, 2008 )〕 and Georgia,〔(Hoyt Coffee, ''Regents Set Semester Switch'', Georgia Tech Alumni magazine, Spring 1996 )〕 and individual public colleges.〔(Tony Boom, ''SOU studies semester switch'', Mail-Tribune, Apr. 3, 2001 )〕 Rochester Institute of Technology has announced their intention to convert to semesters by Fall 2013, although the decision is highly controversial, overriding a student vote to remain with quarters.〔http://www.rit.edu/conversion/〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Academic quarter (year division)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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