Students study in the sun
Many Utah State University students plan to take on college a few semesters at a time. Then there are those who continue on into the balmy months of “vacation” for the upcoming summer semester.
“I think I can just focus better on my one class, and I have a lab,” said Rachel Hulse, a junior majoring in elementary education. “I’ll be in a stats class and an FCHD (Family Consumer and Human Development) lab.”
Hulse is in the kindergarten through sixth grade program, and because she needs to teach in a preschool at some point for her training, she will be in a preschool lab on campus for seven weeks of the summer.
“The difference in registering was that instead of registering at night, we could just do it on April 1. … There’s no separation based on class,” Hulse said. “There were a few less summer classes you could take, but it’s basically the same as any other time.”
Though it’s been something she has had work into her budget since she’s never taken summer courses before, summer semester is cheaper overall, Hulse said.
Many students are not accustomed to the pattern of going to school during the summer, which may be one reason fewer students register for the summer classes, said Jay Wright, marketing director for Regional Campuses and Distance Education.
“When I was in college, I was either doing internships or working two jobs to make as much money as possible,” Wright said. “It’s just not easy for some students to fit it in.”
Summer 2015 marks the implementation of a number of changes made to summer semester which hopefully encourage more registration, said Robert Wagner, executive vice provost and dean of USU’s Academic and Instructional Services.
“As we looked at how to redesign summer semester, our main goal was to really understand what would be most beneficial to students,” Wagner said.
There were four specific changes focused on making changes to summer semester: putting together a good schedule, offering courses students want and need, making it financially beneficial and making sure to clearly advertise and share why summer semester is good for students.
There has been difficulty in the past getting students to register for summer semester, which is one of the reasons for change — to make it more appealing and convenient for students, he said.
“We tried to design a schedule where we’d offer classes both in the morning as well as the afternoon, in case students need to work,” Wagner said. “We also provided online courses that were more flexible to students who have to work full-time, as well as evening courses for students who needed to work during the day.”
The semester has been cut up into seven and fourteen-week schedules to make the timetable less confusing for students.
No classes will begin before 8 a.m. and 14-week courses will not be held on Fridays, he said.
“As we looked at the data, we discovered there are popular general education courses offered during the fall and spring that fill up real fast, why not offer those courses during the summer time?” Wagner said. “If you weren’t able to get into a class in the spring, you could get into that class during the summertime.”
Students at USU are cost-conscience, so a new tuition and fee model was constructed to allow students to have a discount, if only going to school in the summer part-time, he said.
Departments came together to find instructors who best fit the courses being offered in the summer, to cover those new classes opening up.
“I’m confident that students will experience the same great quality instruction during the summer-time as they do during fall and spring,” Wagner said. “I think USU does an excellent job of providing the best-quality instruction no matter where the student goes across the state, no matter when the student takes classes and no matter how the student takes classes.”
— mandy.m.morgan@aggiemail.usu.edu