The University of Maine at Presque Isle is offering its second Fall Short Term from Oct. 21 to Dec. 30, providing students and others looking to complete their four-year degrees with a concise, 6-week session as an alternative – or an addition – to the regular 15-week semester.
“Our short terms give students who are progressing well in their ‘normal’ 15-week coursework the opportunity to pick up an extra course, helping speed their time to completion,” UMPI Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Michael Sonntag said. “And if a 15-week course just isn’t working for students for whatever reason, our short terms give them an alternative, allowing them to pick up a new course mid-semester and avoid getting behind. Our short terms are helping us meet the University of Maine System Board of Trustees goals of promoting quicker time to degree completion and increasing graduation rates.”
For its Fall 2013 Short Term, UMPI has 7 course offerings. All of these classes are online. They include ENG 121 College Composition, ENG 151 Introduction to Literature, HTY 161 US History I, HTY 115 World Civilization I, MAT 101 Basic Statistics, PSY 100 Introduction to Psychology, and PSY 200/SOC 200 Social Psychology.
Sonntag explained that the University hopes to achieve several other goals with this and future short terms: to provide students with greater scheduling flexibility, to encourage more people to pursue their degrees, and to provide even more support in helping them stay on track and complete their degrees in a shorter period of time. The University has moved in this direction already by implementing several initiatives, including new online majors in English, History, Psychology and Liberal Studies, a wider variety of online courses, and a comprehensive list of summer courses.
The University piloted its first short term in January 2012 when it offered a J-Term to provide degree seekers with a short class between the fall and spring semesters. Based on the success of that term and one earlier this year, UMPI is offering another J-term at the beginning of 2014, as well as two six-week-long short terms in Spring 2014.
“We’re very aware of how busy our students are and how important it is to have courses when and where they want them, so we’re very pleased to be providing them with even more learning options through our short terms,” Provost Sonntag said. “This really helps us offer a robust schedule of courses year round and to do our very best in assisting our students in reaching their educational goals.”
For more information about UMPI’s Fall 2013 Short Term, or to sign up for classes, contact the Office of Student Records at 207-768-9540. Information about upcoming Short Term classes can be found at umpi.edu/academics/short-terms/.
