Lots of people perform better when allowed to focus on one task at a time.
Such people often find a single challenge, even one that is difficult, less daunting than two, three, or sometimes even four far less difficult ones.
For them, a one-course-at-a-time academic structure makes more sense than a traditional semester system. Almost all online colleges offer degree programs in which students take a single course in a reduced time frame rather than taking several courses simultaneously during a traditional sixteen week semester.
It might surprise you to find out that three relatively small liberal arts colleges also employ calendars designed to allow students to pursue a degree one course at a time. Colorado College, one of the three, developed what it calls the Block Plan more than thirty years ago. The plan divides the traditional academic year into eight blocks of three and a half weeks each. Depending on the material to be covered, a student may be enrolled in a single course for one block or more.
Iowa's Cornell College, not to be confused with Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, uses an identical calendar and an identical one-course-at-a-time system.
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.
The three colleges are very different in terms of selectivity, location, and other factors, but their academic calendars set them apart from every other college and university in the United States. And the web pages of the three highlight the same advantages their academic calendar affords students. The ability to continue a good discussion without the constraints of a 50 minute time limit. The freedom to remain in a laboratory as long as you wish. And, the ability to develop mastery of a subject by focusing on it without other demands.
If you like the idea of taking one course at a time and the advantages of a block plan appeal to you, you should check out one or more of these unique colleges.
Such people often find a single challenge, even one that is difficult, less daunting than two, three, or sometimes even four far less difficult ones.
For them, a one-course-at-a-time academic structure makes more sense than a traditional semester system. Almost all online colleges offer degree programs in which students take a single course in a reduced time frame rather than taking several courses simultaneously during a traditional sixteen week semester.
It might surprise you to find out that three relatively small liberal arts colleges also employ calendars designed to allow students to pursue a degree one course at a time. Colorado College, one of the three, developed what it calls the Block Plan more than thirty years ago. The plan divides the traditional academic year into eight blocks of three and a half weeks each. Depending on the material to be covered, a student may be enrolled in a single course for one block or more.
Iowa's Cornell College, not to be confused with Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, uses an identical calendar and an identical one-course-at-a-time system.
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.
The three colleges are very different in terms of selectivity, location, and other factors, but their academic calendars set them apart from every other college and university in the United States. And the web pages of the three highlight the same advantages their academic calendar affords students. The ability to continue a good discussion without the constraints of a 50 minute time limit. The freedom to remain in a laboratory as long as you wish. And, the ability to develop mastery of a subject by focusing on it without other demands.
If you like the idea of taking one course at a time and the advantages of a block plan appeal to you, you should check out one or more of these unique colleges.
About the Author:
Daniel Z. Kane has counseled high school and college students for more than three decades. His websites cover subjects which include online college degrees, financial aid, college admission, and accelerated online degree programs.