JP Catholic Board of Trustees has approved the adoption of a Year Round structure for its academic degree programs starting July 2008.

Students will now finish their degree program in 3 years rather than the traditional 4 years.

Commenting on the change JP Catholic President Dr Derry Connolly said 'JP Catholic's mission is to shape innovators and creators, leaders and entrepreneurs at the intersections of business, technology and communications media'. The traditional 'agricultural' model for higher education with its long summer vacations does not support our mission. The long vacation breaks cause a significant loss of learning and are a major disruption to the student business creation process. With the current 'agricultural' model, students spend 2 years learning how to start their business, but the post-sophomore break puts on pause the business ideation and creation phase, while the post-junior year break interrupts the execution phase. This old structure is not conducive to training future entrepreneurs and leaders, creators and innovators in the rapidly changing fields of media, business and technology.

Dr Connolly added 'JP Catholic seeks to invent the future of Catholic higher education. We will lead the charge to a new model that is better aligned with accomplishing our mission. While the summer break can often provide the opportunity for a relevant internship - we are encouraging our students to get multi-year long internships at local San Diego companies.

Sense of Urgency: 'We are developing in our students a sense of urgency for their future. College often delays the transition to 'manhood and womanhood' for our young people. There is an urgency about our dual mission of evangelization and of impacting our culture for Christ.

Future Academic Quarter Structure:

Freshman Q1 starts Oct	Freshman Q2 starts Jan	Freshman Q3 starts Apr	Sophomore Q1 starts July
Sophomore Q2 starts Oct	Sophomore Q3 starts Jan	Junior Q1 starts Apr	Junior Q2 starts July
Junior Q3 starts Oct	Senior Q1 starts Jan	Senior Q2 starts Apr	Senior Q3 starts July

New Structure - Academic Quarters and Vacations:

Quarter	Approx Date
Fall - begin	October 1
Fall - end	December 17
Christmas Break	2 weeks
Winter - begin	Jan 2
Winter - end	March 23
Easter Break	10 days
Spring - begin	April 1
Spring - end	June 15
Summer Break	4 weeks
Summer - begin	July 15
Summer - end	Sept 23
Fall Break	1 week

Read more on tuition and fees).