Some students prefer focus, speed of summer courses versus regular school year
Switching to summer classes from fall and spring classes can be a dramatic shift in pace for students and professors.
That change, however, may be more suitable for some.
Summer classes take the information students learn over a 16-week semester and fit it into a six- or three-week class. Some students may find the thought daunting, but others prefer the faster pace of summer classes.
Lake Orion sophomore Jeff Hickey said he prefers summer classes when compared to the fall and spring semesters.
“I feel like a lot of the useless busy work that you encounter throughout the regular school year is cut out," he said. "You really just get right down into the core of whatever class you’re taking."
Hickey said one of the biggest perks of summer classes is the greater amount of free time.
Though his classes met almost every day of the week, Hickey said with only one or two classes, he had more time to focus on the work given.
“During the school year there is just so much going on every week," he said. "Usually I have a lot of credits so I’m pretty busy just from my classes, then there’s everything else that goes with college life."
Holland senior Andy Carmichael said he prefers to take classes during the summer as well.
Carmichael has taken summer classes for the past two years, and said he notices a definite improvement in his performance in summer classes versus fall and spring semester classes.
He said he also enjoys the lower student-to-professor ratio in the summer, finding his professors to be more helpful and accommodating.
“The class sizes are usually much smaller so there’s time for more one-on-one with your professor," he said. "It gives your professor the chance to actually get to know you a little bit better than during the fall.”
Students are not the only ones to prefer summer classes over fall and spring classes. Mathematics professor Donna Ericksen said she would rather teach in the summer class than fall and spring.
Ericksen's material stays the same, but the atmosphere of her classroom changes.
“When you get to see the students everyday, you really get to know them,” she said. ”Also, since the students are only taking a couple of classes, they often have more time to come in for help if they need it."
Though she does not see a significant difference in student performance between summer classes and fall and spring classes, Ericksen said students seem more relaxed during the summer.
