THE MICHIGAN DAILY Squeezing 'Em Out the Assembly Line By G. K. HODENFIELD and MURRAY CHASS AP Newsfeature Writers NEW YORK-The leisurely aca- demic life at college is going the way of the raccoon coat, the Charleston, and bathtub gin. It is harder to get into college, and harder to stay there, than it was just a generation ago. There is a more to learn, more who want to learn it, and no place for the lag- gard. In. an effort to cope with the swelling hordes of high school graduates seeking a higher educa- tion, many colleges and universi- ties are turning to various forms of a year-around program. Trimonster fit. One which seems to be catching on generally is the trimester, some- times referred to as the "trimon- ster." By any name it is a speed-up, and when it comes in something intangible-the art of learning leisurely-goes out of college. Instead of the traditional two semesters of 16-18 weeks, with a long summer vacation, the trimes- ter plan has three terms of 14-15 weeks, with a one-month break in late summer. A student attending eight coa- secutive trimesters can graduate in 2 years and 8 months, instead of the usual 3 years and 9 months. Many students, particularly those working their way through school, attend only two trimesters a year ani graduate in the traditional time. day when young people were need- ed at home on the farm in sum- mer, and that day has long since passed. Efficiency Value The keynote of the trimester is efficiency. And there, perhaps, is its greatest drawback. There is limited space on the educational assembly line for mind-sharpening bull sessions, for browsing in the library and read- ing for pleasure, for meditation, and absorbing that which is being learned, for attending plays and concerts, and for just plain river- bank cogitation on the state of the world and its complex prob- lems. The University of Pittsburgh pioneered the9trimester plan in September 1959, and it is now an accepted way of academic life there. All four of Florida's state universities went on the program last fall, as did Jacksonville (Fla.) University, a private institution. Other Colleges Other colleges on the trimester include such diverse institutions as California (Pa) State College, Chicago Teachers College, Fort Lewis A&M (Colo), Parson (Iowa), and Harpur (NY). The University begins a modified trimester schedule this Septem- ber. Zhe University of California, the ,world's largest institution of higher education, and Ohio State University .are giving the three- term plan serious thought. If it is true that national adop- tion of the trimester plan is as in- evitable as death and taxes, it also is true that in some quarters it is just about as popular. When the Florida legislature forced the four state universities there to adopt the trimester last fall, there were howls of outrage. Howls to Moans Now, after a hectic, one-year trial, the howls have diminished to moans. If the trimester survives in Florida, other state legislatures may demand something similar for their public institutions. The Florida pattern: Work that had been covered in 16 weeks was compressed into 14. End-of-term examination periods were cut from two weeks to one. To make the actual time-in-class the same un- der the trimester as it was under the semester, each class period was lengthened by seven minutes. Including examination periods, the trimesters ran from Sept. 10 to Dec. 22, Jan. 7 to April 12, and April 29 to Aug. 9. Christmas va- cation, Easter vacation, and regis- tration took up the time between trimesters. To accommodate the thousands of teachers who return to the cam- pus for summer school year year, the third trimester was divided in- to two equal parts. Regular stu- dents had the option of attending either, neither, or both halves. Teachers, still in their classrooms when the third trimester started, were in effect restricted to the second half, starting in mid-June. The Florida universities had a 14-month period in which to pre- pare for the trimester. But when it came, few of the faculty and even fewer of the students were ready. The transition was rough. Freshmen. found college work harder than they had ever imag- ined, and some foundered. Upperclassmen found the speed- up forced them to reduce their academic loads. Working students had to ease their work schedules, and thus cut back their incomes. . Drop Countries Classroom lectures and text- book assignments designed for a 16-week semester had to be dras- tically revised for the 14-week tri- mester. One history professor solved his problem by dropping Formosa and Korea out of his course in oriental history. An Eng- lish professor said, "I'm just talk- ing longer about fewer things." These were the problems of tran- sition, and all but a few die-hard opponents of the trimester ac- knowledged they would eventually be solved. But cutting the academic term from 16 to 14 weeks has raised other problems for which there are no apparent solutions. No Time Professors of biology, chemistry, medicine, and related fields say their students are denied time for important laboratory work. Music professors say their students have insufficient time to practice. The time that faculty members can devote to independent study, travel and research, is sharply cur- tailed. This not only hampers the present faculty members, it makes it difficult for the universities to recruit top-notch teaching talent. However, Litchfield says of the trimester: "The great advantage is that it keeps young, active minds working on academic subjects the larger part of the year instead of letting them do idle things. That use of human resources is im- portant." But critical professors in Flori- da say the trimester has meant sacrifices in the things which spell the differences between knowledge and wisdom, between book learn- ing and true education. Attendance at artists' perform- ances, foreign film showings, con- certs and other cultural events has dropped sharply. The libraries re- port a great demand for reference works, little demand for leisure reading material. Volunteers to work on student publications are hard to find. "The sad thing about it," a pro- fessor at the University of Florida said, "is that new generations of students will never know what they are missing." SMEDICINE. SDENTISTRY 0 NURSING Our store is specially equipped to fill your every need, and a well PUBLIC HEALTH informed staff, including MEDICAL and DENTAL students, will serve you. Books and Supplies LOVERBECK - BOOKS'k9 10,16 TORE L The Medical Book Center Phone NO 3-9333 ..1216 South University Obvious Advantages The advantages of the trimester 'r are obvious, and difficult to de- bate: -A college on the trimester plan can accommodate 30 per cent or more students with no more class- ~ rooms and with only a modest in- crease in staff. With college en- rollments jumping from four mil- lion now to eight million in 1970, this program. may be the only sal- e ' vation for hard-pressed state in- stitutions.' -Students can cut years off the time they normally would spend preparing themselves for a career. This is particularly true of the growing number who go on to' professional or graduate school. -The traditional long summer vacation is a throw-back to the + Use Daly Classifieds + I s . . .. 4 Purchase Camera Shop q : .. : { . . t , of 9 4 'p 0 ,[ '; f t Ann Arbor's only Exclusive Camera Shop AUTHORIZED DEALER for most nationally advertised Merchandise Whatever Your iotographic Needs Aay Be--- We Can Serve You ! PROMPT PHOTO FINISHING CAMERAS REPAIRED in our own repair shop STOP IN and browse over the most complete stock of CAMERAS and I