Students struggle with summer class structure
By Ashley SpahnIs it possible to cram a 16-week session into an intensive six-week session?
This is a question many Cleveland State University students ask themselves half way into the class this summer. The university offers two six-week sessions in the summer.
Based on an informal survey done with 50 students, 80 percent of them said it’s extremely hard and overwhelming when taking courses in the 300 and 400 levels.
Fifteen percent of the students say they are willing to settle for a lower grade because they’re taking three or more courses. In the 300- and 400-level courses, 90 percent of the students say they spend twice as many hours studying in the summer.
The same question posed to 20 professors who revealed their mixed feelings about the summer session. When asked if the classes are equivalent to the 16-week sessions, 60 percent of the professors said it is equivalent and that it also depends on the students’ attitude.
Ninety percent of the professors said they enjoy teaching in the 16-week session instead of the six-week session. They claim there is a better student-teacher relationship in the regular 16-week session.
These students and professors interviewed agree that the six-week session is much more intense. Also, students need a positive work ethic to succeed and learn from the course in the short session, they said.