While his classmates spend their winter breaks visiting family or vacationing, Cal State San Marcos senior Nick Ruffing plans to advance his degree, speeding through two classes in as many weeks.
Ruffing is one of about 300 students at the university who have enrolled in "winter intersession," an intensive class session offered for the two-week period from Jan. 3 through Jan. 15.
"This will be my first time taking winter intersession courses," said Ruffing, 21, a communications major. "It fits well with getting all my classes done to graduate in the summer."
Offered through the school's extended learning program, the courses allow students to pick up additional credits in the break between semesters, expediting their progress toward graduation, said Sarah Villarreal, director of marketing and student services for the extended learning program. The deadline to register online is Wednesday at noon, she said, although students may be able to add courses on the first day of class if space is available.
The demanding session squeezes a full semester's curriculum into two weeks, she said, with students covering the same course material they would normally study for four months. A three-unit class requires 45 hours of classtime, she said, so some intersession courses may meet for up to nine hours per day. The work required outside of class is comparable to what students must complete during the standard schedule, she said.
"Students basically go to class full-time during that period," Villareal said. "It's the same number of instructional hours, just in a very condensed time period."
The classes, most of which provide three credits, cover a mix of high-demand subjects and specialized electives, she said. This winter the university is offering about two dozen courses, including science, history, politics and sociology.
"They're classes that they think are most needed by students ---- ones that might not be offered as frequently during the year, or are more impacted, or electives that they don't offer as often," she said.
She said the university suggests that students limit their course load to a single class, but Ruffing said he enrolled in two, one online course and one traditional class, which satisfy requirements for his major and general upper division credits. The extra credits, along with some classes he'll complete this summer, will allow him to graduate in spring, he said.
He said he's eager to wrap up his degree, but nervous about the course load.
"As long as I stay focused and buckle down, hopefully I'll get through the semester in the 10-day period," he said.
Call staff writer Deborah Sullivan Brennan at 760-740-5420.
