Max Augugliaro
News Editor
ESU has announced the addition of more seven-week course for the Spring 2022 semester.
According to an ESU news release, the main reason for this move is to give students a more flexible option to earn their degree.
“When we’re looking at non-traditional learners who are working full time during traditional work hours and have families and other community obligations, they are looking for a schedule that can help them meet their own personal and professional goals by completing a degree,” said ESU’s Dean of College of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Andra Basu, in a statement included in the news release.
This move seems to follow a trend, with universities, in offering seven-week courses.
In addition to ESU, several other universities around the country, like Temple, Villanova, and Northern Kentucky, have offered seven-week courses as well.
“All of higher education is designing ways to serve and attract students, to support their personal and professional goals,” said ESU’s Interim Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr. Margaret Ball, in the news release.
“This is one of the ways we can do it.”
One campus program that has been on the forefront of this initiative is the Master of Education in Reading program.
“It’s very much a version of a flipped classroom, in which all the reading and all the videos and all the preparation are done with our students before they meet with us,” said Reading Department Chair and Associate Professor, Dr. Shawn L. Watkins, in the news release.
The news release also provided testimony from students, all of whom also work as teachers within the Nazareth Area School District, about their experiences with accelerated courses.
“I love that this model allows me to only have grad class sessions once per week to allow me time for family, friends and to participate in activities going on at my school,” said Tara Treon, a kindergarten teacher.
“These types of classes have given me the opportunity to take two classes a semester which I can manage financially all while speeding up the process of the program,” said Ali Kalinowski, who is also a kindergarten teacher.
Both Treon and Kalinowski are currently working towards a Master of Education degree with a Reading Specialist certification, according to the news release.
If you have not registered for Spring 2022 classes and still need to, make sure you schedule an appointment with your academic advisor.
Email Max At:
maugugliar@live.esu.edu
