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Following the transition of the majority of �鶹Ӱ�� courses to eight-week terms instead of 16 weeks to improve student retention and success, the initial data show positive results. 

“Overall, students are doing better in eight weeks,” said Dr. Jen Servi-Roberts, assistant vice president of academics and guided career pathways. “The data show really promising results for enrollment, completion and success rates. We see students putting all their energy into fewer classes and hopefully leading to a deeper relationship with their instructors. The whole goal for transitioning to eight-week terms was to get more students through their classes successfully. Those are the results we are seeing.” 

Fall 2024 saw a pass rate of 75.4 percent for all courses, compared with 71.6 percent in fall 2023. Term A and Term B in the eight-week courses saw pass rates of 78.5 percent and 74.1 percent, respectively, in 2024. Failure rates dropped 1.8 percent overall in 2024 compared to 2023. Withdrawal rates also declined from 7.6 percent in 2023 to 5.7 percent in 2024. 

“We saw improvement across pathways and age groups,” she said.  

Servi-Roberts said there were some important takeaways from the first two eight-week terms that included the majority of �鶹Ӱ�� courses. It’s important for students to stay on top of the work because of the shorter terms, she said. Instructors also had to look at course and learning outcomes to figure out what was essential. The conversion from eight weeks to 16 weeks was not about “teach twice as fast,” but really re-examining courses and determining what content was core, Servi-Roberts said. 

Scott Neal, a cybersecurity, networking, and support program instructor, explained that in preparing his area for the transition to eight-week courses, they asked adjuncts and faculty to redesign their courses. 

“You assume doubling up on work, but that’s not how this works,” he said. 

There also are areas that may need to be re-examined for whether eight weeks is the right fit, an assessment the College planned to do as part of launching the Great in Eight initiative.  

Scott also raised concerns about how well students had time to digest what they were learning in some classes. 

“Students like the eight-week format because they can get done more quickly, but their biggest concern is the retention,” he said. "They are worried about how much of it they're actually retaining because they feel like they don't have time to digest the material. And we have a lot of highly technical courses.”  

At a faculty panel discussion at the Center for Learning Excellence in February, faculty members shared concerns, tips and feedback about transitioning many courses to eight-week terms. Some had already been holding eight-week courses while others had to make adaptive changes to their courses for the scheduling change.  

“Having the opportunity to meet with the consultant [when the College was planning the transition], although we were already in eight weeks, there were things beyond discussion posts needed to increase the engagement with our online asynchronous courses [including videos],” said Charminique Williams, assistant dean of Human Services and Public Safety. “The actual pass rate between the class completed in fall 2024 compared to fall 2023 is completely different.”  

Scott also said attendance is better.   

“I do think that attendance has probably picked up as far as making sure people are regularly there for class,” he said. 

As the College continues to assess the impact of the eight-week format, faculty and students are adjusting to the new structure. While early data show improvements in student success and retention, ongoing evaluations will help refine the approach to ensure it meets the needs of all learners.