Rachel Waddell

As the grades for winterim classes begin to roll in, the number of students enrolled in the session this year marked a record high.

A total of 1,271 students earned 3,604 credits in the three-week long courses offered in January.

Winterim classes, which ended last Friday, generally met for three hours everyday with some classes also meeting on Saturdays. About 60 different classroom-based courses were offered for the winterim session, which may be one reason for the increased enrollment.

In 2001, 1,232 students attended 57 courses in the winterim session.

A strong desire exists to take classes in real demand at this time and classes that are in high demand are targeted for winterim, said Janice Morse, administrative officer for academic affairs. For classes that tended to fill up quickly, Morse said sections were added if someone was willing and able to teach.

“It is easier to enroll in a high-demand class. It is an intensive three-week course where (students) get to immerse themselves in the subject matter in ways they couldn’t before,” Morse said.

Many students are realizing the benefits of taking a winterim class, such as junior Jessica Lietzan who took a psychology course.

“I will be able to get done just that much sooner,” Lietzan said.

Being able to graduate sooner is just one reason students may enroll in a winterim course.

“My guess is that students are beginning to see real advantages of winterim to help them catch up if they fell behind and graduate early,” Morse said. The typically smaller class sizes and increased faculty-student interaction also present a more relaxed atmosphere for winterim classes, she said.

“You get to know everyone by the third class. It’s more intimate; there are smaller classes. You tend to disclose more in the environment,” Lietzan said. “It fosters trust and relationships between students. It encourages students and makes it easy to focus too.”

With the record number of students attending winterim courses, Morse said everything went as planned.

“We would consider it very much a success,” she said.

The session also proved popular with students.

“I really like winterim and psychology isn’t one of my favorite things,” Lietzan said. “I’d recommend it just because of the class environment.”