A number of U.S. higher education institutions are converting from quarter-to semester-based academic calendars; in fall 2012, seventeen Ohio institutions did so. Over a two-year time period, college student samples were recruited from a large, public, urban, Midwestern university that was undergoing a transition from a quarter-based to a semester-based calendar. Results indicate that during their last year on the quarter calendar, most students favored that system and predicted little to no change in their motivation heading into semesters; but after their first year on the semester calendar, their favoritism of quarters decreased. This mixed methods study assessed college students' favoritism of quarters and semesters; their predicted and perceived changes to their motivated behaviors; and their self-reported motivation. Even though most students perceived little to no change in their motivation after the conversion to the semester calendar, there was a noticeable increase in the percentage of students who reported having adopted maladaptive behaviors and becoming de-motivated. Despite this increase, a statistical increase in students' self-efficacy toward their coursework was also observed. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.