Summer Enrollment at SOU is Running Ahead of Last Year

Students picking up additional credits, speeding time to graduation; Pre-College Youth Programs anticipating a fun and busy summer


(Ashland, Ore) Booming enrollment at SOU isn’t taking a summer vacation. So far the university’s summer enrollment is 23% ahead of this time last year.
“Some classes are already full and others are getting close to capacity,” says SOU Registrar Matt Stillman. “If a student needs to take a pre-requisite course in order to get into an upper level class in the fall, I would urge them to enroll as soon as possible.”
The surge in summer enrollment is a continuation of the strong enrollment growth SOU has seen the last four years. Enrollment spiked last fall when the university experienced a 26% increase in the student population, a record enrollment of 6,515 students.
There are many reasons students sign up for summer classes. It saves time to graduation. It takes pressure off the regular school year class load. It provides an opportunity to take a class a student couldn’t fit into their schedule at other times of the year. It’s a chance to accumulate credits for a second major or a minor. And, if you need to push up your grade point average a little, it’s a chance to buff the GPA too.
SOU offers more than 150 summer session classes in Ashland, Medford and online. Sessions range from one to eight weeks, beginning June 13 through August 28.
Summer session students don’t have to be formally admitted to the university to take classes, and you can sign up for as many classes as you like.

Among the special classes being offered at SOU this summer are:

GSWS 399: Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies Summer Forum, eight short-session courses ranging from “Women and Passion” to “Women and Aging.”

COMM 441: International Communication, examines the people’s revolutions in the Arab world, and news coverage, social media and communication technologies.

The School of Business is offering undergraduate courses in Grant Writing (BA 430) and Case Studies in Sustainability Leadership (BA 490), and graduate courses in Crisis Communications and Organizational Coaching (MM 540).

For more information about SOU summer session 2011, visit www.sou.edu/summer.
Summer at SOU is also a busy time for Pre-College and Youth Programs. This summer more than 50 classes will be offered through “Hot Classes” for K-12 students and include Tech Week, the College Prep Institute, and Camp Lego Robotics; and through “Kids University” for students age 8-12 and classes that cover drama, art, sports, science and computers.  For more information, visit www.sou.edu/youth/summer, or call541-552-6452.
This summer a $55,000 grant from Oregon GEAR UP will help pay tuition for students from rural Oregon schools to attend SOU’s residential Academy, Konaway Nika Tillicum, and Academia Latina programs for students in grades 5 through 12. The grant will also help send GEAR UP students who have completed grade 9 to Oregon Outdoor Adventure Camp at SOU. And the grant will help high school students attend Camp M.D. (Medical Detectives) at SOU.