The Intensive, Three Week Interim Semester: Is it Effective?

Universities have implemented an intensive 3-week interim semester, or “mini-mester.” How does the compressed and intensive mini-mester compare to more traditional academic formats? The research reported here is a comparison of the same graduate-level counseling course, taught by the same instructor, during three semester formats: a 3-week mini-session, a regular 5-week summer session, and a regular 15-week semester. The researchers examined student attitude, knowledge, and skill development over the duration of the semester. The resulting data showed significant change in each semester as computed with Paired Differences t test. However, analysis of covariance showed no significant differences between semester lengths. Also cited are results of a university-wide report on the 3-week “mini-mester,” including faculty and student satisfaction, impact on summer school enrollment, and cost analysis.