UW-Madison encourages students to explore Summer Term
From Concerts on the Square and chemistry to farmers’ markets and physics, the University of Wisconsin–Madison offers a unique combination of summer experiences. This year, the university is encouraging more students to explore all that Summer Term has to offer.
“Summer Term has always offered students a unique setting where they can pursue intellectual exploration and discovery,” says UW–Madison Provost Paul DeLuca. “By responding to students’ needs, and introducing new ways to deliver their instruction, we can enhance UW’s reputation for innovation and excellence.”
As the summer sun shines, students sit outdoors and study at The Plaza, an outdoor seating area at Union South, in July 2011.
“We want to broaden and enrich the UW experience for our students, many of whom want to finish their degrees faster or dive deeper into a particular subject,” says Jeffrey Russell, vice provost of lifelong learning and dean of continuing studies. “At the same time, we hope to welcome more students from other colleges who want to sample UW–Madison’s academic offerings and transfer those credits back to their home institution.”
While some will be attracted by warm-weather activities on the beautiful lakeside campus, many Summer Term students are focused on completing degree requirements without disrupting their other summer activities. That is one reason UW–Madison expanded its summer online options to 100 courses, so students can pursue academic goals while working in their hometowns or interning with companies in other states.
“The students asked for flexibility and we responded,” Russell explains. “One benefit of studying during the summer is students then can move toward their graduation goal faster and ultimately join the workforce sooner. Making that transition from student to salary-earning professional is an important goal.”
“One benefit of studying during the summer is students then can move toward their graduation goal faster and ultimately join the workforce sooner.”
Jeffery Russell
Through a mix of direct mail, social media, Web advertisements and other promotional tools, UW–Madison is reaching out to current students and their parents, encouraging them to consider Summer Term. The campaign also hopes to reach students from other colleges. Online offerings include courses that fulfill general education requirements, such as introductory statistics and speech composition, as well as advanced and graduate-level courses.
Current UW–Madison sophomore Savannah Strauss enjoyed her summer studies on campus last year. “I took first semester French and found I could go more deeply into the material and focus on more details. There also were fewer distractions on campus. In my opinion, nothing compares to the immersion of a Summer Term course.”
At UW–Madison’s College of Engineering, faculty members developed three online Summer Term courses specifically to meet the demand for introductory engineering courses in statics, dynamics, and mechanics of materials.
“There also were fewer distractions on campus. In my opinion, nothing compares to the immersion of a Summer Term course.”
Savannah Strauss
“These new offerings fulfill the basic requirements for many engineering students in the U.S.,” says Associate Dean Steven Cramer. “We think these courses will fill easily, as they are prerequisites to many advanced classes.”
Including both online courses and those offered in UW–Madison classrooms, more than 1,000 academic offerings are available during Summer Term, in sessions ranging from three to eight weeks in length.
More than 12,000 students enrolled in Summer Term last year, earning about 52,000 credits. UW–Madison hopes to increase summer enrollment to about 20,000 over the next 10 years.
Current UW students can enroll in Summer Term as they would for fall and spring semesters. Students from other universities must be admitted to UW–Madison first. For information, visit summer.wisc.edu.
Tags: engineering, learning, online education, students, summer
