Three Colleges Unlike All the Others

Lots of people perform better when allowed to focus on one task at a time.

In most cases, such people prefer a single task, even if highly difficult, to two or three offering lesser challenges.

Not surprisingly, a one-course-at-a-time calendar might be more to their liking than the more traditional quarter, trimester, or semester calendar. Online colleges frequently adopt such calendars to allow working adults with multiple responsibilities to take single courses in shortened terms rather than carrying several courses for a sixteen week semester.

But, you might be surprised to learn that three traditional colleges offer the same structure. One is Colorado College, a highly selective institution which adopted what it calls the Block Plan in 1970. The Block plan divides the academic year into eight terms, each three and a half weeks long. Depending on the material to be covered, students may take a single course for one block, two blocks, or more.

At Iowa's Cornell College, the academic year also consists of eight terms of three and a half weeks, with students enrolling in a single course per term.

Tusculum College, at the foot of Tennessee's Smoky Mountains, refers to its "focused calendar". At Tusculum, students take a single course during each of the four segments into which each semester is divided. They may also pursue additional courses, one at a time, during the summer if they wish to accelerate their time to a degree.

Colorado College, Cornell, and Tusculum have many differences. Colorado College is the most selective, and draws more students from greater distances than do Cornell and Tusculum. Tusculum is significantly less expensive than the others. Colorado Springs, Mt. Vernon, and Greeneville are as different as can be, and the campus environments at the three institutions feature substantial, obvious differences. What is the same at the three colleges is their belief that a one-course-at-a-time calendar provides students with multiple advantages which include the freedom to take field trips without worrying about schedule conflicts, the opportunity to focus on and gain the most in-depth knowledge of a subject, and the time to extend class discussions or laboratory based projects at will.

If you like the idea of taking one course at a time, and if the advantages of a block schedule appeal to you, one or more of these three unique colleges may be good options for you.

Article Source: http://mylilpeanut.com

Daniel Kane has counseled high school and college students for more than three decades. His websites cover subjects which include scholarships for college , financial aid, college admission, and online degree programs .
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