A&S Expands Summer Online Programming

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 29, 2011) —University of Kentucky's College of Arts and Sciences has doubled its online course options for the summer, offering greater variety and flexibility for traditional and nontraditional students alike.

From general education courses to major requirements, and with over 50 classes to choose from, there is a class to fit your needs, according to Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs Anna Bosch.

"We are really excited about our summer online courses, and we think that UK students will benefit from the interesting and engaging classes our faculty have been working hard to develop," Bosch said. 

Last year, A&S offered approximately 28 online courses, but this summer the number is up to 53 Bosch said. "Our enrollments last year were over 1,600 students, and this year we have just under 3,000 so far." 

Students can enroll in an online class until the day before classes begin, so Bosch expects that number to increase. Classes are being offered in four-week and eight-week sessions, as well as in the first six weeks and the second six weeks.

Classes are offered on topics ranging from anthropology to oceanography to sociology and derive from almost all the A&S disciplines.  About half the online classes are at the 100-level, while the other half are 200 to-300-level courses.    

One of the most unusual courses offered online this summer is A&S 350, titled "Personal Strengths and Your Career Development."

"This is intended to help students plan how to make that jump from full-time student to full-time employee," Bosch said.

Before taking the summer plunge, familiarize yourself with online education at UK with sample introductions to several summer classes available now. Interested students can also read about the experiences of their peers. Two UK students blogged about their online classes last summer.

"We think that online classes will be particularly useful to students who want to live back at home and have a summer job," said Bosch. "The online format allows students to do their class work at their own pace and at the time of day that best suits them."

Bosch recommends checking the course pre-requisites and discussing summer registration with your academic adviser prior to signing up for an online class.

While it’s unlikely that a student would enroll in more than one class at a time, two summer sessions do give a student the opportunity to take one class during each session. 

"If you take one course each summer for 4 years, you can graduate a semester earlier than you otherwise might," added Bosch. "This is a great advantage for students."

For more detailed information about the classes being offered this summer, check out A&S online and click on “courses.”

MEDIA CONTACT: Erin Holaday Ziegler, (859) 257-1754, ext. 252; erin.holaday@uky.edu