As the spring semester ends, some students are putting away their books, and others are getting ready to begin again.
Summer school offers advantages to students, and many are enrolling in shorter and quicker courses through K-State and other colleges, whether it be to catch up or get ahead.
Kelli Cox, planning and analysis director, said students can take summer courses either as two-week intersession classes or classes that last four, six or eight weeks.
“The way it is set up gives more flexibility to the students,” she said.
With a shorter duration, Cox said students can take classes early in the summer and have the rest of the time to work, travel or whatever they want.
Students also can take classes in the summer that they may not be able to fit into their fall or spring semester schedules, she said.
Cox said the majority of classes offered in the summer are six- and eight week-courses in the College of Arts and Sciences.
She said the university has a committee of deans that selects the courses.
Larry Rodgers, associate dean of arts and sciences, said classes are offered in the summer based on supply and demand.
“It’s very flexible,” he said. “If we had more students who wanted to take summer school, we are in a position to offer more classes. It really is based on the number of students that want to enroll in any one summer.”
Rodgers said the classes offered are adjusted to meet the needs of students, and the adjustments continue until the beginning of the semester.
“We try to offer classes that … students need to have in order to meet major and distribution requirements, and also to teach courses that are more likely to attract large numbers of students,” he said.
Robin Blume, junior in animal sciences and industry, said she has taken summer classes since she was a freshman.
The summer before her sophomore year at K-State, Blume said she took a class at Highland Community College in Wamego.
“I chose Highland because it was cheaper, and it was close because I lived in Manhattan in the summer,” she said.
Blume also has taken classes at K-State during the summer. Though she usually takes one three-hour class, this summer, she will be taking six hours.
“I usually just take one class a summer, but I feel like I’m falling behind,” she said. “I feel like I have to take six hours so that I can get caught up or even get ahead.”
Blume said the classes she takes in the summer are required for her major, and now that she has decided to add another major, she thinks it is even more necessary to take extra hours in the summer.
“It kind of lightens the load during the semester for me,” she said.
Blume said summer classes are usually more intense because they are every day.
“In the long run, they almost seem easier and you feel like you get done quicker, and you can also dedicate your time to that one class,” she said. “I actually kind of like taking them in the summer because I know I can get good grades.”
Kate Killingsworth, freshman in apparel and textiles, is taking three classes this summer online through Kansas City Kansas Community College so she can get her general education course requirements done.
“I know three sounds like a lot, but they are only about a month long and it will be an easy way to take care of these credits,” she said.
Killingsworth said she is taking classes through KCKCC instead of K-State because the classes cost less.