ODU’s Winter Term Student Enrollment Numbers Are Growing
By Noell Saunders
Old Dominion University's winter term, which runs Dec. 18 to Jan. 5, offers students an opportunity to complete general education or upper-level requirements that can help them finish on time or get ahead in their academic work.
Jeanie Kline, academic initiatives executive in the Office of Academic Affairs, said the short session has become popular since it began in 2016.
"There are currently 700 students enrolled, more than double what we had last year," Kline said. "The winter term started last year as a pilot program and at that time we had about 335 students. It was so popular that we decided to expand the offerings this year."
In the 2017-18 winter term, 11 classes have been added to the program, making a total of 20 available from the Darden College of Education, the College of Arts and Letters, the College of Sciences and the Strome College of Business. All are online offerings and are open to registered students anywhere.
Courses that work well in an intensive three-week period are selected for the winter term.
"We want to offer the classes that students would be able to successfully complete in a short time, so a number of undergraduate courses were targeted. Graduate courses and undergraduate courses with a heavy emphasis in writing require more time to complete, so we don't offer those," Kline said.
A support team that includes the University's Information Technology Services and the Help Desk, the Center for Learning and Teaching, the Library/Learning Commons, Financial Aid and others have helped to make the winter term a success.
In coming winter terms, Kline hopes faculty will explore options for study abroad courses, in addition to expanding class offerings currently available.
Classes range from the principles of accounting to public relations, health communication and cultural geography. For a full list of the winter courses visit the University's Courses and Registration website.
