Students to soak up summer sun, knowledge

April 30, 2009 by Pashtana Usufzy 

School continues year-round for some who want head start

The summer term at UNLV has seen little increase in student registration from last year, despite the possibility of cutbacks in course offerings for the fall 2009 semester.

“Last year, about 18,000 students took courses in the summer,” said Summer Term Assistant Director Kimberly Holmes. “We’re expecting…about the same number this year.”

Holmes said the administrators of the summer semester have been working to attract students and increase campus knowledge of the benefits of summer courses.

“We are hoping students see that [the] summer [term] has the potential to allow them to take classes that might not be available in the fall,” Holmes said.

Although there has not been a spike in the number of students registering for classes, Holmes said she has seen more students who are taking on heavier course loads.

“We’ve been getting a lot of questions about overload petitions,” she said.

Brittany Dixon, a who plans to major in meeting and event management, is one undergraduate hoping to utilize the summer term to quickly work her way through her degree requirements.

“I’m just fast-pacing through college,” she said. “I’m not stopping.”

Summer classes are not subject to mandated section reductions due to budget cuts like fall and spring courses are. They are offered at the discretion of departments, allowing the most popular courses to be offered consistently.

“The courses [this summer] really seem to be the same [as last year],” Holmes said. “There are a few here and there that [the departments] have been adding.”

Holmes explained that the diversity of classes offered expands during summer terms as departments try to develop new programs and reinvent defunct courses.

“If they haven’t offered [certain] classes in a while, summer is a good time to [try],” she said.

Departments may add courses to the summer schedule until the start of the summer session it will be held in. Holmes said this could mean a range of different courses and class sections are on the way.

“Students who want to get into a class should…keep looking back to see if [another section] has been added,” she said.

Dexter Gluskin, who recently declared a double major in gaming management and accounting, signed up for the summer term to get ahead in his accounting courses.

Gluskin explained that he has previously taken summer courses and he said the relaxed setting and wide array of classes available are the reasons he registered for the summer semester.

“It [is] a lot easier,” he said, “[but] it sucks because classes are every day.”

According to Holmes, not only do summer courses allow students to earn credits more quickly, but they also give students the opportunity to make up credits for overlooked core requirements.

“Summer classes help students get ahead in their degree programs,” she said.

Kinesiology major Summer Sweeney explained that she would like to get through her core math and health care administration courses during the summer to prepare for her senior year curriculum.

“I just need to take [the classes] before the fall,” Sweeney said. “I’m taking…MATH 195, 196, and 124.”

Registration for the first session of summer courses without late charges ends on May 8, with instruction beginning May 11.

ON THE WEB:

UNLV Summer Term: summerterm.unlv.edu