Transition to Semesters: FAQs

Transition to Semesters: Reasoning

As described in the Summary of the Counseling Division, the Collaborative Leadership Council within the division conducted an exploration into the best structure for the division with a focus on equity, justice, and student success. The council conducted a study of “perspectives on advantages and challenges” of quarters vs semesters, analyzed student data, reviewed other CACREP-accredited programs, and compared key components (e.g., cost and time to completion) for the programs within the division. Advantages cited for the semester-based system included:

Pedagogical: The semester-based system allows for deeper engagement with complex material and the time for content understanding, reflection, and application within each course.
Clinical: The semester-based system provides more consistent clinical support, the ability to meet CACREP clinical hour requirements in a shorter number of terms. The internship semesters can be taken subsequent to the practicum, providing the opportunity for students to engage with sites over their entire pre-practicum and internship experience.
Student Life: The semester-based program is 60 credits while the quarter-based program is 90 credits. Students will take fewer classes, have more in depth academic and clinical learning, and a slower-paced schedule with longer breaks between terms.

The most significant finding of the coalition, however, was the discrepancy between the cost of attendance of the quarter-based and semester-based programs, based upon the different credit requirements (90 quarter credits vs 60 semester credits). The Collaborative Leadership Council prioritized cost as a deciding factor in the selection of a unified schedule for the division.

Previous Communications:

Communications Folder

Frequently Asked Questions

Will students be able to opt for Tuesday sessions exclusively?

Tuesday classes will be available for continuing students. Because of the varying schedules, some continuing students will need to take classes on weekends or online to complete all of their requirements. Electives will be offered online, in order to provide both the certificates and elective options available to all students in the counseling programs offered in Seattle and across the division. Practicum and Internship classes will also be offered online.

In what modality will electives be offered?

Electives will be offered online. Elective courses are available to all students in the division to expand the options for all students, including those in the Seattle program. Certificates, as well, will be offered online so that all certificates will be available to all students in the division, again, increasing the options for students.

How long will Tuesday classes be?

In person classes on Tuesday will be 2 hours; the classes involve additional instructional time (e.g. videos) with which students will be able to engage according to their own schedule. The 2 hour classes will allow for an on campus schedule that will be more accessible for our students who are also balancing commitments outside of their graduate studies.

What is the current status of Seattle-based faculty?

While we do have faculty who teach on the Seattle campus currently, the trends in higher education indicate that in order to sustain the regional presence, we need to create a model that will be more sustainable. The weekend model provides sustainability of the program.

Please provide clarity regarding CACREP requirements.

CACREP requirements apply at the program level, not the individual student level. Students graduate from a CACREP-accredited program, but CACREP does not audit coursework on a student-by-student basis.

That said, we closely monitor individual student course modalities to ensure program compliance. Our Accreditation Specialist at CACREP has advised that campus-based programs maintain at least 75% in-person instruction, both in terms of total instructional time and overall course offerings. While students are not penalized for taking online courses, the program must meet this standard.

To ensure compliance, our team—including our CACREP liaison, Accreditation Specialist, Chair of Outcomes and Accreditation, and program leadership—works together each term. Given that we also have two low-residency/online programs, maintaining the required balance for our campus-based program remains a key priority.

The 12:1 ratio does not refer to individual classes or class sizes, rather the ratio of Faculty Full Time Equivalents to Student Full time Equivalents. These ratios are calculated each term with support from the CACREP liaison, who is in contact with our CACREP consultant, our Chair of Data, Outcomes, and Accreditation, and with administrative support. These ratios are reported throughout the accreditation cycle in a variety of documents to CACREP, not just at the time of re-accreditation

Summer: What is happening for the summer quarter? What do summer semesters look like going forward?

With the exception of students in Case Consult and a few in certificates, students will not have classes for the summer 2025 quarters. Moving forward, classes will continue to be held in the summer semesters.

What should I expect with my elective requirements in this transition?

Elective credits will vary by student, depending on other courses taken, the credit variation within those courses (such as PIP), and how far along students are in the program. These will be reflected in your roadmap.

What is happening with our credit requirement of 90 credits?

In this transition, the quarter credits will be transferred into the semester-based credits. The individualized roadmaps will provide information on what classes/credits a student has earned and how these credits will be transferred into the semester-based credits. The roadmap will also highlight what remaining courses need to be completed for graduation.

What is happening to our current credits already earned? Are they being increased or decreased?

Any credits that have already been earned or are currently being earned during the transition will be transferred into semester credits.

Will tuition increase?

The per credit cost for semesters is lower than the per credit cost for quarters. With 90 credits required for quarters and 60 credits required for semesters, most students will save on tuition expenses.

Are our current course plans based on our catalog year on enrollment? If so, how will this affect our requirements?

Catalog years are considered in the new roadmaps and degree requirements will be updated, if needed. We fully anticipate that all students will complete the program with their requirements fulfilled and intact.

Is the enrollment credit limit being increased?

No, the university’s policy on academic load does not differentiate between quarters and semesters. Students will be able to carry the same number of classes in semesters as they did in quarters.

How does it affect the speed of graduation for current students?

For most students, this transition will shift their graduation to be sooner than they expected. This is why the individualized roadmaps will help as these will provide the starting quarter and anticipated graduation date in quarters and what the anticipated graduation date will be in the semester system.

How does this affect practicum and internship? Will practicum be one semester, and internship two?

This transition will shift the Pre-Internship Practicum to take place over one semester, with students being able to attain the hours needed during the 15-week semester instead of over the two-quarters of 13 weeks. Internship will be two semesters. Many students may choose to complete Practicum and both Internships at the same site which would provide a full year of clinical experience.

How does this affect our CACREP accreditation? It does not mention in the memo that we will still be accredited.

This transition will not affect or impact our CACREP accreditation, as the program will still be CACREP accredited.

How will this affect winter registration? Should I drop any classes?

The admin team is using your winter registration in consideration of your road map. If at all possible, please do not make any changes to winter!

How will this affect financial aid eligibility? Will students need to take more courses or less to meet full time status?

Students are eligible for financial aid with 3 credits, whether in quarters or semesters, according to the University’s policies on academic load that does not differentiate semesters and quarters. Antioch’s Financial aid department will be providing additional information to students. In both the quarter-based and semester- based systems, according to the university, full time is considered two courses.

Will classes be offered on different days again? Will there be more online courses to compensate?

Students within the division will have the option to engage in the delivery option that works best for their learning style and personal circumstances. All programs will be available to all students, and, thus, students will no longer be limited by location. The campus-based programs (Seattle, Keene, and Midwest), per CACREP requirements, will be offering 75% of their core courses in-person (on campus). Students who prefer to take online classes will be able to do so in the low residency programs (cohort or non cohort).

Will class sizes be increased or decreased?

Transitioning to a three term schedule will not increase class size.

How does this affect course availability in terms of when they will be offered? Will courses be merged to make up for lack of extra offerings in a year, such as Theories 1 & 2 just being in one semester?

Moving from 90 credits of classes to 60 credits of classes will allow for a more predictable schedule. Some classes are combined to meet the CACREP standards in certain areas, while others will be expanded. The faculty and administration has completed an extensive crosswalk of all of the classes to meet CACREP requirements within the 60 credit semester schedule.

What about certificate programs? Will their courses be merged, or will students have to extend their time in school to complete them?

Students in all programs will now have access to ALL of the certificate programs within the division (not just the ones offered in their programs). The certificates will be attainable as a part of students’ programs, as before, but the number of courses will decrease for the quarter-based certificates to account for the semester-based requirements.

How does this affect individual course workload?

Students will be provided with the individualized road maps. Because of the decrease in required credits, most of the semester-based students will be able to meet their graduation requirements in the same amount of time taking the same course load, but in semesters rather than quarters.

Will course requirements be removed for a majority of the courses to offer more flexibility?

The roadmap takes all prerequisites into consideration and students will see a clear path to graduation.

Why wasn’t this plan advertised on Antioch’s website or mentioned in new student orientations?

The fall 2025 incoming students in all programs will be launching in semesters and are being informed as they apply to the program.

With the semester system in place, does this mean classes will be worth more credits?

Most classes in the semester schedule are 3 credits each. According to CACREP, quarter-based programs require 90 quarter credits while semester-based programs require 60 semester credits.

Does this new change mean that classes will be fully online?

Now that all of the Clinical Mental Health Counseling programs in the division will be on the same schedule and working from an aligned curriculum, students can choose to stay in their current delivery model or choose a different one that better meets their needs, since all the classes will now be the same content:

In person in Seattle;
In person in Keene;
Low Residency cohort model with some in-person residencies (zoom classes generally on Mondays);
Low Residency non-cohort model online (asynchronous and zoom meeting options, several days of the week) with some in-person residencies.

Will we start to have grades, or will Antioch continue with narrative evaluations?

The Programs will continue with the same grading structure for the 2025 - 2026 academic year (as outlined in the Student Handbook), during which time divisional faculty will be working collaboratively on an aligned evaluation plan for the division.

With the semester change, how many classes are comparable to two 3-credit classes in quarters, workload wise?

Many students choose to carry between 2-3 courses per semester, but this is dependent upon their schedule, learning style, and roles and responsibilities outside of graduate school. The roadmaps are a guideline and will be adjusted as needed.

With the semester change, will classes be offered every term?

In semesters, a selection of core classes will be available every term (Spring, Summer, Fall). As a division being on one term system provides the opportunity to take electives across the counseling division, elective classes will also be available every term (Spring, Summer, Fall).

How does this change impact PIP and Case Consult?

There will be specific meetings with the CDs where there will be additional information provided for those that are at this stage. The roadmaps that you will be receiving are designed to carefully account for the timing of your Pre-Internship Practicum (PIP) and Case Consultation (Internship) in relation to the semester transition and your clinical development. The roadmaps will highlight the opportunity to complete your clinical training sequentially near the end of your program, ensuring you are well-prepared to graduate and launch into your counseling career, whether you are in the quarter or semester system. Once you receive your roadmap, we encourage you to review your roadmap closely to understand how this transition may impact your schedule.

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