Report of the Semester Conversion Task Force - California State ...

Semester Conversion Task Force ReportRough estimate of transition costsTable 8 contains estimated costs for converting from quarters to semesters. The cost estimates areincomplete and reflect only the work of the committees of the Quarter to Semester Conversion TaskForce. They are not meant either as a substitute for a conversion budget or as an exhaustive accountingof conversion costs. They are intended simply to provide guidance with respect to costs associated withthe conversion process.The figures in the table are based upon the investigation and best judgment of the committee membersand were arrived at through internal discussions as well as interviews with, or confirmations from,individuals responsible for the areas impacted.These figures are for the transition phase only and do not take into consideration either savings oradditional costs resulting from conversion. Although the argument for costs savings is convincing—thatrunning processes related to the machinery of the University fewer times a year under semesters wouldpresumably result in some savings—neither the committees nor the Task Force attempted to quantifysuch savings.Furthermore, many factors and contingencies related to implementation could easily affect theseestimates. For example, the time span for conversion as well as the actual start date of the conversionprocess could have significant impacts on the actual costs. As a result, the figures below should beconsidered directional rather than actual cost predictions or budget estimates. Implementation of aproject as large and complex as semester conversion can easily result in unforeseen expenses.In comparison, the University of Cincinnati (~40,000 students), which planned a 4 year transition period,estimated that their transition costs would be $13,867,000. When the University of Minnesota (~67,000students) converted to semesters a decade ago they spent approximately $4 million exclusive of IT costs.The costs below should be viewed as estimates only and represent only our current thinkingabout the minimum resources required for conversion.As these estimates make clear, semester conversion will require a substantial investment.We expect the process of conversion to have a controlled budgetary process that takes thefinancial resource needs into account and identifies dependable and sustainable sources offunding before conversion actually begins.34