Semesters or Quarters? The Effect of the Academic Calendar on Postsecondary Student Outcomes

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Bostwick, Valerie; Fischer, Stefanie; Lang, Matthew
• 署名单位: Kansas State University; Monash University; University of California System; University of California Riverside
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-ECONOMIC POLICY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7731
• DOI: 10.1257/pol.20190589
• 发表日期: 2022
• 页码: 40-80
• 关键词: school start time; enrollment; IMPACT; achievement; performance; inference; grants; aid

摘要

There exists a long-standing debate in higher education on which academic calendar is optimal. Using panel data on the near universe of four-year nonprofit institutions and leveraging quasi-experimental variation in calendars across institutions and years, we show that switching from quarters to semesters negatively impacts on-time graduation rates. Event study analyses show that the negative effects persist beyond the transition. Using transcript data, we replicate this analysis at the student level and investigate possible mechanisms. Shifting to a semester: (i) lowers first-year grades, (ii) decreases the probability of enrolling in a MI course load, and (iii) delays the timing of major choice.