Student interest in shortening the time it takes to earn a degree at Eastern Washington University is helping to drive up enrollment for summer session 2017, which has increased by more than 7 percent from the previous year.
According to a July 11 news release, this year, 5,744 students are taking “Summer at EWU” classes during the first session (June 26 – July 21). This is up from the 5,357 students who took classes last year at this time. Student credit hours are also up by nearly 7 percent compared to the previous summer.
One reason for the increase is that EWU’s Summer Session can now be treated as a “fourth” quarter by students who want to accelerate their time to degree. This is accomplished by offering more general education core courses that are required for their majors.
“This new summer session strategy is based off student surveys,” John Neace, associate vice provost for Outreach and Engagement, said in the release. “Students clearly indicated they wanted more courses offered toward their undergraduate degree both on campus and online.”
Neace also notes that EWU expanded the marketing of its summer programs, allowing students to plan their schedules well in advance and ration their financial aid so they’d have tuition funds available for the extra quarter. Neace says it’s appealing to students, and their parents, to secure a degree earlier than expected so they can get on the job market and start their career path sooner.
EWU’s second summer session begins July 24.
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