Registration for Summer Session opens at noon on March 21, and the first 1,000 students who show up for a kick-off celebration at the Lory Student Center get a free tank top.
The event, in the Sutherland Community Garden south of the food court, will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and will feature free desserts.
Summer Session has some new offerings this year, including a six-credit community sustainability workshop, which offers an innovative way for students to complete an AUCC English Composition requirement plus elective credit.
Advantages
Summer Session, in which nonresident degree-seeking students can receive three credits at resident tuition rates for online classes, is a good option for students to:
• take gateway and prerequisite courses like physics, math, chemistry and composition
• take courses with high demand/waitlists
• recover credits and accelerate time to graduation
• improve their GPA or repeat/delete courses
• explore a new interest, add a minor or concentration; switch or add a major
• take advantage of smaller class sizes, building community with students and gaining more individual attention from faculty
• focus on a difficult topic intensely
• lighten courseload in other semesters
• gain experience through internships, research, study abroad and experiential/field courses
• enjoy the beauty and serenity of campus and Fort Collins in the summer
Summer 2017 courses are available on RAMweb. In addition, the Summer Session website includes many resources, including why students should consider Summer Session, upcoming events, options for housing and dining, financial aid and other programs and resources.
Courses at a Glance allows students to search for courses by term within Summer Session or by subject. With daytime classes offered in varying lengths, online classes and varying formats including weekends, there are options to fit most summer plans. In addition, financial aid may be available for summer – students should meet with a counselor from the Office of Financial Aid.
Considerations for students
Condensed course formats intensify workload; most students take three to six credits in the summer session. Students will need to build in more time to study to keep up with the faster pace of summer courses. If attending overlapping terms, they’ll need to compensate accordingly.
As a rough guideline, fitting a 3-credit, 16-week course into a shorter time period can make a four-week term feel like 12 credits, an eight-week term feel like six credits, and a 12-week term feel like four credits. In addition, labs are intense in an eight-week term. Students may not be able to work and go to school if taking a full credit-load.
Other events
In addition to the kick-off on March 21, two other Summer Session events are planned this spring:
Wednesday, April 5: Are You Waffling about Summer Session?
-Free waffle breakfast and information booths with folks from the Office of Financial Aid, Student Employment, Study Abroad, Residence Life, Campus Recreation
-LSC Room 322, 10 a.m. – noon
(Up the main steps, across from Ballroom A)
Thursday, April 20: Pups on the Plaza
-Learn about Summer Session at CSU
-Visit our HABIC four-legged friends. Free ice cream!
-HABIC teams (Human Animal Bond in Colorado) will be on the plaza
-LSC Plaza, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Visit www.summer.colostate.edu to learn more about Summer Session resources, or contact summer_session@colostate.edu, (970) 491-4159.
The director of Summer Session Initiatives would like to hear from anyone with ideas for courses or programs that would benefit students and help advance the University’s Student Success Initiatives to promote timely graduation and eliminate graduation gaps between minority and non-minority students. For example, courses offered in the summer to allow for optimal preparation for fall courses (prerequisite or skills enhancement courses), pipeline programs to assure access and transition, and intervention programs for specific student populations or programs of study. To provide feedback, email Anne Van Arsdall at Anne.Van_Arsdall@ColoState.EDU.
