by Amanda Gutierrez
Daily Lobo
Most students dread the thought of going to summer school, spending endless days inside while friends enjoy the summer fun. Yet a rising number of UNM students are choosing to enroll in summer courses, following a trend at many other colleges.
According to the Summer 2003 Official Enrollment Report issued by the Registrar's Office, enrollment is up nearly 4 percent from last year with 8,671 students attending summer school.
Those numbers mark a significant increase over the past few years when enrollment dropped after 1999, with an average of just over 6,000 students enrolled over the summer months during those years.
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An independent poll conducted by the Daily Lobo shows that 30 percent of the people on campus over the summer were enrolled in some type of summer school.
The reasons vary why students are attending in higher numbers, but one student said it makes the upcoming semester not so stressful by putting him ahead of the game.
"With so many classes offered during the summertime students can take advantage of finishing a class in a much shorter time period than during the regular semester," said B.J. Babbitt, a UNM junior. "Also many prerequisites are offered during this time, allowing students to finish mandatory classes much quicker."
Other students are taking more summer classes to speed up their possibility for graduation. Katy Perry, a senior majoring in English, said she wants to graduate in December and would have less hours to complete by attending summer school.
"With the ever-increasing tuition rates, summer school is becoming a viable and intriguing option to obtain a degree in less time," Perry said.
Other students said that they took summer courses to maintain their work-study position on campus, mainly due to the lack of quality summer employment around town. According to a recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, the lagging economy is a key contributor to the national trend in summer courses.
Some students use the summer semester to make up credits they didn't do so hot in the first time around.
"My motive to attend during the summer was to redo some classes, but in general I wouldn't attend summer school if I didn't have to," said Nathan Gauntt, a senior computer science major.
This overall sentiment was pretty common among the students interviewed. Many responded negatively at the thought of having to spend anytime in the classroom during the summer months.
