By DAVID MURIMI

Staff Writer

Tech has something setting it apart from local universities. It is set up on the quarter system, Pamela Ford, dean of enrollment management, said, which has been well received by students and faculty.

"Throughout the years we have conducted student opinion polls and students have rated our calendar very high," Ford said.

Abdiqani Adam, a senior accounting major, said he agrees. "It is more fast-paced, and the year seems to go by faster," Adam said.

"Students don't have to think I have three or four months left like a semester system."

Another reason Tech's quarter system is rewarding is because it accepts semester hours from other universities, Ford said. Tech itself operates with semester hours as well.

"Tech is very transferable and fewer subjects are being studied in a quarter, and technically you could graduate quicker," Ford said.

David Miller, a transfer student from Grambling State University and a senior sociology major, said he found many of his credits transferred when he enrolled at Tech in the fall of 2003.

Faculty and administration may have it harder than anyone else, Ford said.

"For faculty and staff, it is a quicker turn around for grades to be put out with new classes. It is continuous work, but we do it because it is for the betterment of the students and university," Ford said.

Students and faculty, like Kevin D. Cuccia, an assistant professor at Prescott Memorial Library, said faculty and students feel the push of the quarter system throughout the course of the year.

Cuccia, who has been through both quarter and semester systems, can see the options and benefits both have to offer.

"A quarter is more demanding on students and faculty, but it teaches students to be more responsible and organized," Cuccia said.

Corrick Wilkerson, a sophomore general studies major, said he agrees with Cuccia.

"It almost forces you to be more organized and a student can get more done in a span of 3 quarters," Wilkerson said.

"You cannot lag behind or say 'I will take it easy for a few weeks.' In other words, a student can never let his or her guard down," Wilkerson said.