With the end of the academic year in sight, many Binghamton University students are eager to shed the weight of the semester, burn their course packs, throw their calculators into the Susquehanna River and become immersed in the glorious droll that is summer vacation.
Still others, though, are prepared to remain in the quiet town of Vestal well into the lazy days of August, continuing their education through Binghamton University’s 2006 Summer Session.
BU’s brand of summer school is wholly voluntary, with two separate terms available, each consisting of five weeks of course work. The first term begins on May 30 and ends June 30, with the second commencing on July 10 and lasting until Aug. 11. Another term, appropriately dubbed “Term III,” offers courses of varying length throughout the summer.
Each session will offer students a choice of where to take their classes. Students may opt to take traditional, on-campus classroom courses or online Distance Education courses, of the same duration, from home.
“What the Summer Session does is allow students to manage their future careers,” said Murnal Abate, assistant director of the University’s Continuing Education and Outreach department, the department which organizes the program.
Most of the 350 traditional and 30 Distance Education courses available are contained within Harpur College of Arts and Sciences, although all of the professional schools, as well as a selection of physical education classes, are represented in the summer course catalog, too.
According to Roni O’Geen, an academic advisor for the Continuing Education and Outreach department, the reasons for taking a summer class vary from fulfilling a straggling GenEd requirement, to completing a major at the last minute, to lightening one’s upcoming semester load.
And, according to O’Geen, some simply “don’t want to get a summer job.”
Reasons for enrollment aside, Abate said he’s noticed an upper-classmen trend in students attending.
“Without fail, most of the Summer Session students are seniors,” Abate sad, attributing this trend to what he sees as a senior student mentality.
“The closer you get to graduation, the clearer your challenges become,” he said.
According to Abate, the feedback he receives on Summer Session is largely positive, and the Distance Education courses are “wildly popular.”
“The demand exceeds the supply,” Abate said of the online courses, which he says are the first to fill up.
O’Geen also attributed the popularity of summer classes to the fact that students can opt to take only one or two classes at a time.
“I think what happens is people are looking for a course they need for their major, which would be difficult to take in conjunction with another required course,” O’Geen said.
“It really gives [the student] control,” said Abate on the popularity of the Summer Session’s design. “Now the student has a stake in their summer education.”
Students who choose to remain on campus for either session are housed in Hillside Community at a rate of $135 per week. Current Susquehanna residents who choose to take courses over the summer are allowed to remain in their semester rooms.
Registration for Term I and Term II continues until May 11 and June 20, respectively. Late registration for both terms is available. Tuition is based per credit on credit type, (i.e. undergraduate, graduate or MBA) as well as state residency and mandatory “Summer Comprehensive” fees.
And, just like traditional semesters, add, drop, withdrawal and grade option deadlines are applicable for summer session courses.
Students interested in learning more about BU’s summer session are encouraged to visit the Summer/Winter Session Office in LNG 324, or visit summer.binghamton.edu, the Summer Session Web site which provides perhaps the most succinct testimony for enrollment: “Summer Session at Binghamton University. A good choice.”