Academic excellence through Quarterm

As a move to improve its delivery of instruction, Mapúa pioneered in the country the quarter system or the Quarterm, which divides the academic year into four terms. Since 2002, the Institute has proven the increase in effectiveness of its instruction with the Quarterm through the students’ performance. Below is the comparison between the semestral system and the Quarterm.

	Semestral	Quarter
Units Full Program (BS ChE)	208	208
Units per Term	22 max	15 max
Courses per Term	7-8	4-5
Units per Year	44-53	60
Hours per Week per Unit	1	1.5
Classroom Hours per Week	22	22.5
Terms per Year	2 plus summer	4
Weeks per Term	18	11
Years to Graduate	5	4

Quarterm Calendar

Term	Start	End	Vacation
1	2nd week of July	3rd week of September	1 week
2	1st week of October	2nd week of December	2 weeks Christmas
3	1st week of January	2nd week of March	1 month summer inclusive of Holy Week
4	4th week of April	1st week of July	1 week

Competitive Edge

Quarterm provides an opportunity to students to be in the mainstream of a productive career in the shortest possible time. The system allows a full engineering program to be completed in about four to four and a half years, and an IT program in about 3.25 years at no additional cost. Graduates have the option to pursue advance programs leading to an MS degree, or further take a specialized program to upgrade their academic credentials and enhance their competitiveness in a highly selective global job market environment.

Greater Focus

Instead of taking 7 to 8 courses per term (for semestral), a student will be taking fewer courses in any given quarter. While the examinations may be spaced at shorter intervals, the total number of examinations a student takes in any given term is less. Less “shifting of gears” will be required as a student juggles his study hours for the different courses.

Improved Performance

Mapúa’s implementation of the QuarTerm has shown improved performance among its students. Higher grades have been obtained with more students qualifying for academic scholarships. Mapúa graduates under the QuarTerm have also shown impressive performance in the board examinations.

Flexibility

Under the QuarTerm, students have the option to finish a five-year program in just about four to four and a half years, or a four-year program in just about three to three and a half years.