Summer session at the University of Idaho is a prime time for students to take courses and stay on track with their degree plans, Summer Session Program Coordinator Linda Gollberg said.
Steven Devine | Argonaut
With temperatures rising summer session is just around the corner and while some students will take the time to be away from school, classes are still available for those who stay.
“They can take general education requirements over the course of the summer term, which would then allow them to start on their degree requirements in a timelier manner,” Gollberg said.
Gollberg said summer session also helps students graduate on time, even graduate early.
“It’s helping them graduate on time and in some instances they can even graduate early if they arrange their schedule thoughtfully,” Gollberg said.
Gollberg said there are many benefits of taking summer session, for example there is no out-of-state tuition, courses and credits are the same, classes period are shorter and smaller so students can get more personal attention.
“There is no out-of-state tuition in summer. Everyone pays the same per credit hour fee so that could provide cost saving for out-of-state students — $311 per credit hour for undergrad courses plus any special lab or course fees,” Gollberg said.”You could take a four-week or a six-week or an eight-week class and be done with it and still have time for an internship, a summer job or vacation with family.”
According to UI Institutional Research and Assessment, 4,599 students were enrolled in summer session 2012. More than 44 percent was degree-seeking undergraduate students and about 28 percent were undeclared or non-degree students.
More than 75 percent were students who attend the UI main campus in Moscow. Even though the overall enrollment number has gone down, the number of students attending the Moscow campus has gone up since 2008.
Gollberg said UI has been successful in stabilizing summer session offerings so students can count on certain classes being available every summer. She also said enrollments will continue to grow as approaching the beginning of summer session.
Gollderg said she hopes students — particularly freshmen and sophomores — will take advantage of the opportunities UI offers to get into high demand courses, save money and time and keep on track for their graduation.
Yunyi Zhang, UI student majoring in Marketing, said he will take some business classes in the summer — six classes with a total of 17 credits. He said the main reason of taking summer session is to graduating early.
“This is my second time taking summer classes. Last year, I took 12 credits,” Zhang said.
Zhang, who is also an international student from China, said tuition is cheaper in the summer than regular semesters. Because of summer session, he is on track to graduating fall 2014.
“Summer courses are pretty good. It helps people graduate early,” Zhang said. “It’s fast and effective so it’s easier to get good grades.”
Nurainy Darono can be reached at [email protected]