Time-shortened formats first developed during summer sessions, often courses designed to accommodate teachers seeking advanced degrees or credentials. Winter and semester intersession courses, often two to three weeks long, followed. Schools developed this shortened term to enable students to focus intensively and exclusively on a single topic or subject. During World War II, the United States and British Armies developed intensive language training programs (Buzash, 1994). This format proved quite successful in training interpreters in a matter of months. The success of this format suggested that an intensive course could be an important, educational alternative.