Summer classes cater to needs of students

While students begin to anticipate the end of the spring semester and a break from its exams, papers and projects, summer classes remain popular among some students approximately 500 classes are scheduled throughout Maymester, Summer I and Summer II semesters.

Summer classes traditionally offer students the opportunity to catch up and keep their original graduation date. Students can also use May, June or July to get ahead and take a lighter load in fall and spring semesters. The three summer programs, however, also give students the advantage of focusing in depth on one subject without worrying about other classes, receiving more time and personal attention from instructors and fitting in classes that conflict with their schedules during the year.

Lauren Marrone, a junior biology major, took 12 hours of classes last summer including Chemistry II, Environmental Conservation, and Understanding Visual Culture and is enrolled in two classes for this summer.

“It was a lot easier to focus,” Marrone said. “I wish they offered more summer classes. I’d rather take one class at a time throughout the year.”

According to A. Kay Anderson, GCSU’s registrar, while the university aims to offer core classes every semester, summer classes are based on demand and scheduled by departments.

“When we get into major courses, it is critical that the departments are making those decisions because they have clearer idea of what their students need, the interests their students have,” Anderson said.

Many departments offer specialty subjects not usually offered during fall and spring semesters such as two criminal justice classes – Capital Punishment and Gang, Crime, and Culture – scheduled to be taught by Carrie Cook, assistant professor of criminal justice. The smaller class size and longer meeting times each day, along with the unusual subject topics of summer classes, allow instructors to engage students and keep their attention and motivation during the warm months of relaxation.

“A lot of the Fall and Spring criminal justice classes we offer are ones that are required for students to take for major requirements,” Cook said. “We offer those classes heavily in fall and spring. So typically in the summer we’ve got the specialty courses which may be taught here and there in the fall and spring but aren’t really a priority. . The classes we offer in the summer are ones we have particular interest in or that we think will be very interesting to students.”

Although the distraction of summer remains a concern among faculty when planning summer courses, Catrena Lisse associate professor of chemistry, who has taught summer classes for the past seven years observed that not all students are easily derailed by the lures of warm weather.

“From my experience the students who take summer classes are on a mission,” Lisse said. “They’re not here to waste time. They’re not here to goof off. Every summer the students who sign up for chemistry classes take it very seriously. And usually my grades tend to be a little better.”

Over the past few years, 2,500 students and Summer I classes.

According to Anderson the earlier summer programs are simply better match students patterns.

“Most (students) still have leases for the month of May and even into the month of June. It’s just convenient. And I think some of it probably ties to family needs of vacation. It’s a little easier to stay at school until midsummer and then leave a month for vacation than it is to leave and then come back,” Anderson said.

Despite the benefits of summer classes, some students steer clear of the campus during the summer and graduate without ever taking a summer class not solely because of their dedication to a no-strings-attached, leisurely break but because of other commitments and obstacles.

“Working seems to be something that certainly competes for their time and attention in the summer especially for students that rely on that sort of income,” Cook said.

As Anderson explained “putting together a class schedule is very much an art” and for most students the summer remains a balancing act between class responsibilities and a time to unwind. And students and faculty alike advise students not to overload.

“If you plan on taking more than one, only do one at a time,” Marrone said. “I wouldn’t do two at once. Do one difficult class and then one easy class, like don’t take Chemistry I and II. Don’t spend your whole summer doing tough work.”

Posted by Rebecca Burns on Apr 16 2010. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry