The summer lull isn’t what it used to be.
On university and college campuses, the hottest months of the year often are the busiest, with enrollments increasing in both online and traditional courses.
Most universities use the summer semester, often organized in multiple sessions, to ramp up offerings for working professionals, their own enrolled students and even visiting students – traditional college students who have returned home for the summer.
The summer months give traditional students a chance to take, or retake, needed classes, or prepare by taking prerequisites for courses they know will be difficult in later years. At the same time, nontraditional students are drawn to the flexible hours or online offerings.
At Providence College, the interest in online courses taught by faculty over the summer has helped to boost enrollment to a point where the summer session is now the largest in terms of student population, according to the administration.
Over the past five to seven years, the college has cultivated a market in online courses for its own students, to be taken over the summer when they return to their hometowns, said Janet Castleman, dean of the School of Continuing Education.
Other universities and colleges in Rhode Island reported similar efforts to bolster summer offerings, and make them more flexible for students. Across the country, similar efforts are underway, as universities try to make use of their facilities, attract more tuition and students, and make gains with on-time graduation rates.
In Pennsylvania, first-year students are encouraged to take classes in the summer to reduce the cumulative costs of attending school, or to get a head start on graduation. The statewide program is called Pathway to Success: Summer Start.
Roger Williams University, which has locations in Providence and Bristol, has offered summer programs for more than 10 years, but it’s been growing those that have more-flexible formats to appeal to students “where they are” so they can achieve their goals, Jamie Scurry, dean of the School of Continuing Studies, said in an email.
“We never want getting to campus to be the barrier to earning a degree,” she said. “Over the last five years we have honed our programs and course offerings to align to industry needs and trends, and to offer a stackable and flexible approach for students.”
Summer enrollments at Roger Williams University have generally been similar to fall semester, she noted, although the course makeup shifts a bit toward courses taken online, rather than on campus.
At the University of Rhode Island, where the summer is divided into two academic sessions, tuition is discounted to entice enrollment. The flagship state university has courses offered this summer in both South Kingstown and Providence, along with 200 online selections.
At Providence College, where two, five-week sessions are offered each summer, online courses were expanded once the administration realized its students were taking classes over the summer after returning to their hometowns.
Now, the university sells these classes as an option that’s easier than trying to transfer credits.
“A large number of the traditional undergraduate day students were going home and taking courses at their local colleges,” Castleman said. “So, we started to work with the college for undergraduate students to offer the classes that these students need during the summer.”
The online courses at Providence College cover a multitude of topics, including ethics, religion and English.
At PC, another market has opened in students who attend out-of-state institutions but who are home living in Rhode Island for the summer. They do have to coordinate with their institutions to make sure the credits can be transferred, but typically Providence College is accepted, she noted.
The college has now bolstered its offerings of pre-med and the sciences to appeal to these students.
“We can’t offer enough seats in organic chemistry,” Castleman said.
Along with these courses aimed at traditional students, the college has in-person summer-session courses taught by full-time Providence College faculty that draw nontraditional students. Many professionals, teachers and other students with full-time jobs use the summer classes to supplement their learning, or work toward first or additional degrees.
The summer, for them, isn’t a time to catch up, but to move ahead more quickly. Castleman described the Continuing Education students as the mainstay of the summer session.
“Most of them have a goal in mind,” she said. “They want to get a better job, improve their lives, enhance their earnings potential. They want to stay on track and they want to get that degree.”
