A comparison between students behavior and performance during regular and intensive control systems courses with and without laboratory time

Intensive engineering courses are those taught with an accelerated format that have the same objectives than regular one-semester engineering courses. This work is based on Control Systems courses, and compares some features of both kinds of courses. More than ten regular courses are compared with two intensive ones. In addition, we also consider formats with and without laboratory time. The results presented are based on the actual grades of the students and not on their perception of the class. Some advantages and disadvantages of each kind of course are indicated, and some conclusions and recommendations to make easier the inclusion of intensive courses in engineering curricula, without a loss of quality, are explained.