New Perks for Students who Stay for Summer School

Published: March 29, 2012 | Author: Jennifer Burt | Read Time: 3 minutes

To better support students as they progress through their majors, Southern Utah University Academics has augmented its programming with guaranteed courses and a wider variety of course offerings for the summer semester.

Additionally, ALL students will now receive resident tuition rates for the summer semester.

Currently, enrollment during the summer semester drops dramatically, as most Thunderbird students only take classes in the traditional fall and spring semesters.

There is much to be said, however, for the benefits of summer study. For starters, students who take classes during the summer graduate faster than those who do not. Also, given the lower enrollment during the summer months, classes are generally smaller, affording a greater level of individual support.

Additionally, housing is less expensive, both on and off campus, during the summer months than it is in the fall and the spring. For example, to live in Ponderosa Terrace for Maymester and both summer sessions, housing will be just $650 for a double or $910 for a single—much less expensive than the $1910 charged per semester in the fall and spring.

Also, jobs are easier to come by in the summer, as many positions are vacated by students who head home or travel over the break.

In short: the summer semester is a largely untapped yet bountiful resource for SUU’s students.

Of the summer semester, however, one complaint has often surfaced from students in years past: canceled courses.

According to Stephen Allen, associate vice president for enrollment management, among other reasons, many students don’t attend school during the summer semester because, in years past, they may have been burned when a course they had planned to take was dropped at the last minute due to low enrollment. This proved both frustrating and counterproductive.

To address this issue, SUU has now created a core list of courses that are guaranteed to carry regardless of enrollment numbers. Beginning this year, SUU’s students can move forward with heightened confidence as they register for classes and make the necessary housing and employment arrangements to stay in Cedar City.

The guaranteed courses span every major and include many of the most popular traditional classes as well as online courses. The total number of courses, by college, guaranteed to carry for the Summer 2012 semester include:

• Business: 37
• Education and Human Development: 69
• Humanities and Social Sciences: 38
• Library: 8
• Performing and Visual Arts: 9
• Science and Engineering: 64

Registration for the summer semester opens Monday, April 2, for graduate students and seniors and Wednesday, April 4, for freshmen through juniors Students may register online or in person through the first week of summer classes.

The 2012 summer semester includes four different sessions of varied length and with different start dates. The Maymester runs May 7–25; the First Session runs May 29–June 29; the Second Session runs July 2–August 6; and the Regular Session runs May 29–August 6.

Students interested in reviewing the benefits of summer courses with an academic advisor may request assistance generating a side-by-side comparison of the time until graduation with and without summer studies. The difference may surprise you!

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