Full-Time Accelerated Pace
The School of Accelerated Degree Programs' academic year consists of four, 12-week terms with 13 cluster meetings per term. Students enroll in one cluster per term, earning nine credit hours in most degree programs. New students may be admitted at the beginning of each term, and they may pursue a full-time academic program by attending all four terms during the year.
In this manner, students make rapid progress toward degree completion while still fulfilling professional and personal responsibilities. Students are not permitted to take more than one cluster per quarter. The accelerated format employing clusters is based on the assumption that highly motivated students are entirely focused on the content of their clusters during the quarter.
The one cluster limit maximizes the likelihood of a quality effort resulting in a quality learning experience. Limiting a student’s course load is intended to protect the academic integrity of the program and its degree offerings. Students are permitted to take one three-credit-hour course in the same quarter in which they are enrolled in a cluster. Normally, a maximum of 12 credit hours per quarter is allowed. In rare situations, a student is permitted to take additional coursework in the day semester program. In this instance, a student is permitted to take a combined (day semester and evening quarter) total of twenty four hours. Students wishing to take hours in excess of 13 semester hours are required to complete a “Petition for Policy Exemption.”