Students can begin to register for the Summer 2012 semester Monday, including online summer courses in one of the three intercession periods.

Kory Schrom, senior integrated life sciences major, said he took several psychology courses and a major course during one of the summer sessions at Kent State main campus. He said campus life, during the summer, is more laid-back and subdued.

“There’s stuff going on like kayaking and DKS students coming in to live in the dorms,” Schrom said. “But for the most part, when you walk on campus, you’re the only one on the esplanade.”

Schrom said students are able to ride their bikes to classes without having to worry about hurting themselves or fellow pedestrians.

Kent State celebrates summer from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. today at the Student Center to excite students about the university’s summer courses.

“This is the most dismal time of the year,” said Marilyn Bokrass, outreach program manager and director for the Office of Continuing and Distance Education. “It’s cold and dark, and I think Monday’s event will just be something fun to get students thinking about summer, talking to advisers and looking at the future.”

Summer course registration opened to all students today at midnight. Bokrass said though Kent State doesn’t normally promote its summer courses this early in the spring semester, the university hopes to get more students thinking about the warmest season and alternative ways to complete their college education.

“Sometimes it takes too long to go through material in the fall or spring,” Schrom said. “It’s weird because as students, we make college a four-year degree, but if we take summer courses, we can get a 15-week program done a lot quicker.”

Bokrass said though on-campus and regional campus enrollment for summer courses has not grown, she said online enrollment expanded this past year.

“Our enrollment is doing very well in the summer for online courses,” Bokrass said. “When Provost Frank came, his vision was to expand distance education and since then it’s exploded—especially in the summer sessions.”

Though other Ohio schools have been reducing the size of their summer programs, Bokrass said Kent State has seen growth. She said this is due to an increase in the number of distance learning courses offered during the summer.

Jeannette Jones, associate director for the Student Financial Aid Office, said students pay per credit hour for summer courses, unless they manage to enroll with more than 11 credit hours. The university puts a cap on tuition fees at that point.

Jones said students are able to apply for summer financial aid and request to use any of their year-long scholarships in the summer. Students, for their summer funding, commonly use the following grants and loans:

• Pell Grant

• Ohio College Opportunity Grant

• Teach Grant

• Direct Loans

• Plus Loans

• private loans

• work study option

“I would recommend that students should try to take fewer classes in summer and work during the summer to help pay for their summer tuition cost,” Jones said.

Summer courses help students who need to fill prerequisites or who want to boost a grade in a course they might have failed. Lynsey Simonette, sophomore visual communication design major, said she took a course last summer during a five-week session to stay on track with her major.

“I needed to have a B in VCD II to continue in my program and I didn’t want to quit, so I took the summer course,” Simonette said. “I learned so much more in my summer course and it gave me a new perspective on the course because I took it again.”

Bokrass said students who visit the Student Center should feel free to stop by for their “Summer’s Coming to Kent State” event, which will feature lemonade, pictures, popcorn and prizes, even if they don’t want to enroll in summer courses.

“We just want to let students know about the summer course options and answer any questions they might have,” Bokrass said. “It’s going to be a fun atmosphere, and we have no demands.”

Contact Megan Wilkinson at [email protected].