By Jaci Schneider, Staff Writer
About 220 students have registered for summer online courses, which are being offered for the first time.
The two classes, Major British Writers I and Messages of the Old Testament, will be taught in three summer sessions and still have several spots open for Summer I, said George Saltsman, director of Educational Technology in the Adams Center for Teaching Excellence.
So far 116 students have registered for Message of the Old Testament and 104 students for Major British Writers.
“Interest has been really high,” said K.B. Massingill, chief information officer and director of the Adams Center.
The courses are open to all students; however, they are both sophomore-level classes, Massingill said.
Students will participate in the classes through the Internet, e-mail and instant messaging, Saltsman said. Testing will not take place over the Internet.
“There will be no tests but creative ways to use your talents to demonstrate what you have learned,” Saltsman said.
However, testing will most likely take place for the many students taking classes on campus this summer.
Enrollment for traditional summer classes is up from last year, said Lisa McCarty, assistant director of Institutional Research and Assessment. More than 2,100 class spots have been filled for all summer sessions, not including online classes.
Reasons for taking summer courses vary for students. Whitney Thompson, junior psychology and youth and family ministry major from Council Bluffs, Iowa, is taking Restoration History during Maymester.
“I couldn’t handle that class on top of everything else and being an resident assistant,” she said. “And I don’t want to take it for a whole semester.”
Many upperclassmen say they wish they could take online classes, but the ones they need are not being offered.
“I wish I would’ve known that those classes could be taken online before I took them last semester,” said Amber Wiard, sophomore math education major from Livonia, Mich.
Saltsman and Massingill said more classes will be offered online in future summers.
“I hope that we’ll be able to add two to three classes every summer,” Saltsman said. “We’d like to be able to add junior and senior level classes that have a wider appeal.”
