By Sydney Matthews | Staff Writer
Baylor’s Summer of Discovery will continue to keep the same prices and design from past years for this year’s summer sessions. The program will provide students with the opportunity to get ahead, catch up or experience new subjects that would not fit into their degree plan otherwise.
Set during the three-month-long summer break, students can choose to do an online or in-person class to further their studies outside of the conventional school year.
“If you are wanting to pick up a minor or want to get a concentration in something, summer is a great time to do that,” Carroll Crowson, associate director for the Center of Academic Success and Engagement, said.
There are three sessions available for students to choose classes from. This year’s summer “minimester” — a term that lasts up to 15 days — will be held from May 15 to June 1. The two longer sessions are held throughout the months of June, July and the beginning of August and may last up to five weeks.
With a maximum of eight hours a student can enroll in a single term, students can choose multiple, if not all, sessions to attend.
“Summer just has a different feel from the rest of the year,” Crowson said. “The way I’ve had it described to me is that taking classes in the summer, especially in-person, is that it is really fun to be able to take classes but then have more free time. There weren’t as many responsibilities for some students because they are taking less classes.”
Crowson said one of the highlights of taking summer classes is the bundling system. The more classes an individual chooses to take, the cheaper the tuition becomes for each credit.
Redmond, Wash., sophomore Jack Chapman said he is taking summer courses again this year after taking some last summer. He said he likes taking pre-requisites in the summer so he can focus more on his major during the fall and spring semesters.
“I like that I have the option to take courses online,” Chapman said. “It allows me to have more flexibility and lets me go home for the summer. I am also able to work more hours at my job because of the classes being online.”
Chapman said although he sometimes would prefer not to think about school during the summer, it keeps him in the school mindset and allows for him to push his further along his degree plan. He said he is also able to take fun classes during the fall and spring to break up his full schedule workload.
Crowson said she encourages students who are thinking about taking Summer of Discovery courses to meet with their advisor to find out how it could fit within their degree plan.
She also said she encourages students to register for summer courses during their designated registration date to ensure they are able to get the classes they want for the summer sessions.
