Viterbo increases online, summer courses

Viterbo is offering more online and condensed courses this summer after surveying Viterbo students enrolled in summer courses last year. “Undergraduate enrollment in Viterbo’s traditional summer courses has been generally low, despite the fact that graduate and adult programs at Viterbo have flourished in the summer,” said Jan Eriksen, assistant dean, School of Letters and Sciences.

“The university administration wanted to find a way to better serve undergraduates in the summer,” Eriksen said. “Last summer I conducted a survey of students to find out what their needs are for summer school: what types of courses they wanted to take and how and when they wanted to take them. I asked random samples of both enrolled summer students as well as those who didn't take any summer classes to complete my online survey. The results indicated that students wanted general education courses, but they didn't want to spend their entire summer on campus. As a result, we added some condensed/time-shortened courses, as well as more online courses, for summer session 2010.”

Online courses offered this summer include BIOL 100, BIOL 203, ENVS 101, MATH 130, MATH 155, and PSYC 320. “Most online courses are seven weeks in length,” Eriksen said. “The science courses are ‘blended,’ which means that students come to campus for their labs, but take the remainder of the course online.”

Condensed courses include classroom contact like the fall and spring semesters but they meet more hours each day and more days per week, Eriksen said. “A three-credit class, for example, might meet four hours a day, four days a week, for three weeks. Evening courses are available as well for those who have day-time obligations or work.

“Because of the flexibility that summer term provides, new courses are often offered for the first time in the summer,” Eriksen said. “In summer 2010, HIST 486 – Special Topics: History of Medicine will make its debut. This would be a very interesting course, especially for students who wish to pursue a health care career.”

Students may register for a summer course up to two working days before the first class period, if space is still available, Eriksen said. However, May 21 is the deadline to enroll for those seeking financial aid for the summer. Undergraduate students must be enrolled in at least six credit hours to be eligible for financial aid. Applications for summer aid are available in the financial aid office, MC 218. Due to the concentrated intensity of summer courses, the maximum credit load for undergraduate students is eight semester hours for the period May 17 – Aug. 20. 

For further information or questions, please contact Jan Eriksen at 608-796-3398 or stop by the office at MC 319.