Trevecca students can take classes this summer from the comfort of their own home.
All 16 general education courses will be offered online this summer for the first time.
And the best part: they are cheaper than regular courses.
Trevecca’s traditional, face-to-face, summer enrollment has declined in recent years, so Trevecca is trying to adjust by offering online courses that provide students the opportunity to take classes without being on campus, Carol Maxson, associate provost and dean of academic affairs, said.
Three-hour online classes will last six weeks during each summer session. Two credit hour courses, such as office and Internet technologies and financial stewardship, will last four weeks. Trevecca is offering three summer sessions beginning May 14. The first session is scheduled May 14 to June 24. The second session is June 4 through July 15. The last session is from July 2 to Aug. 19.
Students can only take one course each session, receiving nine credits at most, David Phillips, dean of the college of lifelong learning, said.
“The best news is the pricing,” Phillips said.
There is a 46 percent discount for online courses this summer, making the actual cost $287 per credit hour, Phillips said.
Trevecca traditional students, Trevecca adult students, Salvation Army students, students from other Nazarene institutions and a few other general categories will receive the discount, Phillips said.
Faculty planning to teach the courses were required to take an online course this year teaching them how to teach online.
Students will also be enrolled in a one-week orientation before starting online classes.
Trevecca is trying to become more flexible to meet the varied needs of students, Maxson said.
“Online education is definitly part of the future, not to substitute face-to-face learning,” Maxson said.
This year students will still have the opportunity to enroll in either online or traditional summer courses. Next year, administration will “step back and evaluate” the different learning styles, Maxson said.
“One of the things we’ve realized, that students take classes at community schools,” Phillips said. “Most students would just as soon take from TNU for convenience and financial feasibility.”
Classes will be designed to fit the six-week schedule, and students must log on to the class five times a week, Phillips said.
“In spite of what people may think, (online classes) are a lot of work,” Maxson said.
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