This year’s graduating seniors are part of the last class at the University to have experienced both the quarter and semester system.

The semester system, mandated by the University System Board of Regents, first made an appearance at the University in the fall of 1998, said Larry Dendy, assistant administrative director of University Communications.

"There had been efforts to implement semesters long before that," Dendy said.

Though the Board of Regents began to require all public universities in Georgia to switch to the semester system in the mid-1990s, efforts to change the University to semesters began in the 1980s, he said.

"I think both the students and faculty have adjusted," Dendy said.

But adjusting to the semester system was not easy at first for many faculty and students, he said.

"Faculty had to make serious adjustments in their lesson plans," he said.

Leigh Hodes, a senior from Marietta, said she agrees that the change was difficult in the beginning.

"It took a little adjustment at first because teachers still acted like we were on quarters," Hodes said.

Hodes said the new semester schedule now permits her to have classes only two days a week.

"Semesters are easier," said Tommy Johnson, a senior from Peachtree City. "I wasn’t very susceptible to the idea at first, but no one lost any credits."

Semesters also are better because tests do not overlap, the workload is spread out and some classes are not as long, Johnson said.

While semesters better allow students to slack off, they also force students to stay for weeks longer in a class they don’t necessarily like, Hodes said.

"With quarters, if you don’t like a class, it’s over soon," she said.

Semesters also allow students more time to devote to the material, said Michael Conley, a senior from Fayetteville.

"It’s not cramming an entire course into a shorter period," he said. "It also gives you more time to get to know professors and the people in your classes. "

Semesters also offer a longer class time, more time for students to speak with their professors and a sound environment, Dendy said.

In addition, semesters have allowed the University to offer more than one commencement per year.

"Students are able to graduate closer to the time they finish school," Dendy said.

On the quarter system, some students who graduated in August would have to wait until the following year to have a commencement, he said.

While the University used to offer one commencement a year — in the spring — students now have the option to participate in a commencement after fall and summer semesters, Dendy said.