Summer School to increase course offerings

Due to rising student interest in receiving three credit hours in three weeks, the number of Maymester courses has been increased.

Maymester runs from May 15 through June 1, and students take one three hour and 15 minute class five days a week.

Maymester has expanded to 42 courses this year from 20 departments, said Jan Yopp, dean of summer school.

In 2010, only 24 courses were offered in Maymester, and in 2011, 34 were offered, Yopp said.

She added that this is the sixth year of Maymester,

About 550 total summer courses will be offered, including first and second summer sessions, Yopp said.

On Thursday, application decisions were mailed to non-UNC students who applied to attend summer school.

For current students, registration for summer school starts March 22.

Yopp said students like Maymester because after June 1 they’re free to pursue work, internships, travel and study abroad for the remainder of the summer.

Three out of four UNC students attend summer school before they graduate, she said.

Most summer students take classes to get ahead in their course load or to fulfill their second major or minor, and to experience these classes at a different pace, she said.

Only 10 percent of summer students attend for academic eligibility issues, Yopp said.

“Our real goal is to make campus a vibrant, exciting place in the summer.”

Yopp said Summer School has not been affected by the recent budget cuts because it is funded entirely through summer tuition, rather than state appropriations.

The proposed tuition this summer is $210 per credit hour for in-state students and $530 for out-of-state students, she said.

By comparison, N.C. State University charges about $215 for in-state students and $730 for out-of-state, and Duke University charges about $930 per credit hour for all students, Yopp said.

In another area of expansion, the first summer session will add to its Chinese and Spanish language immersion programs by introducing an Arabic option.

Students can earn up to seven credit hours in the program depending on the language.

Yopp said Summer School is also trying to add programs that are outside the classroom but still support classroom instruction.

For the second year, the Carolina Summer Jazz Workshop will be offered to college students for credit, as well as high school students and adults in the community, said Stephen Anderson, director of the program.

Professor Suzanne Gulledge, who teaches an education class during the first summer session, said the summer has a “spirit of inquiry” because students have more time.

“It feels less like we’re in competition with other constraints on students’ time,” she said.

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