By Mary Crozier
In the spring, as student enrollment shrivels to a fraction of its normal population, students and faculty disagree in their preference for semester or term classes.
'I prefer the semester because the ground can only absorb so much water,' said Randy Bott, a BYU religion professor. 'Trying to understand and internalize all that in a term is almost asking too much.'
BYU instructors Grant Mason and Patti Collings agree with Bott.
'Statistics requires down time,' said Patti Collings, a BYU statistics professor. 'By that I mean it needs some time for your subconscious to absorb and process the information. Because of this, statistics 221 is better Fall and Winter.'
Grant Mason, a BYU physical science professor, said some lectures, such as Special Relativity, are better taught in a longer class period, as offered in a term.
Few students, however, can focus at their highest intellectual potential for two straight hours.
Yet several BYU students said they preferred term classes.
'Generally, I''d say the classes are easier,' said Briana Butler, a senior, from Elk Grove, Calif. 'The number of papers is reduced because of the time frame, and the professors and TA''s are also more available. I know people who struggled in classes like physical science, but I''m taking it in a term and it''s cake for me.'
Ragaue Maldonado, a sophomore from Austin, Texas, said she liked the availability of the teachers during a term, but that each class is different.
'I like spring term better,' Maldonado said. 'The classes are a lot smaller and you get to know the professors better. But it really depends on the classes you take.'
The BYU Institute of Research recorded about 27,000 students enrolled for Winter Semester in 2002. Spring term enrollment plummeted to fewer than 7,000 students.
Heather Smith, a seniorfrom Roundup, Mont., saw the effects of BYU''s population reduction.
'There''s less pressure, and you don''t have to fight so much for computers,' Smith said.