Comparing 8-week and 16-Week Classes

Here at University of the Cumberlands, we have a mixture of different styles of classes, including eight-week classes and 16-week classes. My understanding is that there are more eight-week classes than 16-week classes offered for on-campus undergrads like me. This is because we operate on a bi-term schedule, which means (unless you have a sixteen-week course) you start new classes every eight weeks. There are two bi-terms each semester, totaling four times your eight-week classes will change in a single school year (not counting summer classes, if you choose to take those).

Does that make sense? A “bi-term” is half as long as a semester. There are four bi-terms in fall and spring, aka two semesters in fall and spring. Most classes you take on campus as an undergraduate student (aka, a student pursuing an associate or a bachelor’s degree) will be bi-term classes that last eight weeks. There will be a few that last 16 weeks, aka one whole semester.

The length of the class isn’t dependent on whether you take the class online or in-seat. Some bi-term classes are online, others are in-seat, and some full-semester classes are online while others are in-seat.

Clear as mud? Great! But what will this really mean for you as a student?

Well, first off, there are some main differences between the two:

• Most sixteen-week classes do not meet every day, they only meet on certain days of the week because they are more prolonged.
•  Most eight-week classes meet every day, Monday through Thursday. There are very few exceptions, classes that don’t meet every day (some of the art classes, for example).
• Some eight-week classes are hybrid, meaning they technically meet every day, but they meet online for around two days a week and in person the other two days. Some professors choose to not meet at all on the designated online days. Just depends on the professor and how quickly your particular class is moving through the required material.
• The pace of learning can also be very different between bi-term and full-semester classes. Eight-week classes usually go at a much faster rate due to the class being completed in less time. The 16-week courses allow for more time to understand the concepts of the class. This may mean that you feel like you’re going at a slow pace in your 16-week course, or you may feel like you’re moving equally as fast because there’s just so much content to cover. It all depends on the class and the professor. But I’ve personally felt like eight-week classes feel much faster.

There are some similarities as well: 

• Both 16-week courses and eight-week courses are worth three credit hours. (There are rare exceptions for some labs and music classes, for instance, that are only worth one credit hour regardless of whether they last eight weeks or 16 weeks.)
• Besides meeting times, all courses, regardless of how many weeks they last, operate in the same format they would regularly operate. For example, if it’s a lecture style of class, then it will still be taught as a typical lecture course whether it’s an eight-week class or a 16-week class. 

From personal experience and what I have heard from other students, some classes here work well with the eight-week courses, but there are some eight-week classes that need to have the full 16 weeks due to there being a lot of content needing to be covered. I have had some eight-week classes that didn’t quite fulfill my understanding on what the class is about because we had to rush through concepts instead of going in depth with everything. But that is not every eight-week class; I have some classes that worked well in that shorter-length format. There are just certain classes that need the full 16 weeks in order for students to get all the needed information and really have time to soak it in. But one positive of the eight-week class format is that, by completing one class and starting another in the middle of the semester, students have something new to study during the semester, which can be refreshing.

So, in general, I personally would enjoy more 16-week courses than what we currently offer, but taking a mix of both eight-week and 16-week courses can be a good thing. Everyone has their own opinion on this. You’ll discover what works best for you!