By Farris Willingham, Editor-in-Chief
Students can enroll in a condensed, three-week term during the summer.
Officials created Maymester as part of a two-fold attempt to attract more students to the university, said Dr. Tom Brown, acting associate provost.
The other program is Blueprint for Success, a nine-week session geared toward high school students who are preparing for college.
Each Maymester credit hour is $350, and students don’t pay fees.
An undergraduate credit hour during any other term is $840, which is more than twice the amount of a Maymester credit hour.
“We thought that we would like to try a semester that didn’t completely intrude on students’ summers and offer it at a very attractive price,” Brown said.
Students cannot receive financial aid if they enroll solely in Maymester, he said.
“At this reduced rate, it really doesn’t make a huge difference,” Brown said.
A student is eligible for financial aid if he or she is enrolled in six credit hours and at least a nine-week session, Brown said.
“If you did a Maymester course and the Summer II term, then you could receive financial aid,” he said. “You can’t stack terms though.”
A student cannot receive financial aid if he or she is enrolled in Summer I and Maymester because the terms overlap.
Brown said he hopes students who attend summer school at other universities will stay here.
“It would be nice to have summers look more like falls and springs, in terms of people being around,” he said.
Blueprint for Success, which will award seven credit hours to participants, will begin simultaneously with the Summer II term. The program is $5,000.
Students will improve their writing, math and study skills by taking academic courses and field trips and studying with university professors, said Elizabeth Willner, associate professor of education.
“This is a terrifically important program because many students have never been taught how to take notes during a lecture or how to read a textbook differently than a novel,” Willner said.
Offered courses include English composition, intermediate algebra, college algebra and college academic skills, she said.
“Our goal is to help students develop the skills and confidence to make the most of their college education,” Willner said.
Officials want to keep enrollment at 20 students during Blueprint for Success’s first year, Brown said.
“We’re going to target students whose ACT scores are between 18 and 21,” he said. “If it’s successful this year, then maybe we’ll host two sections of it next year.”
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