The three-week winterim session continues to see an increase in enrollment as students look to get ahead in reaching the end goal – graduation. 

Students are able to select one of many accelerated courses offered during the winter to catch up or stay on track to earn their degree. The three-week hasten course is similar to taking 15-18 credits during the fall and spring, all of which will be online this year due to the Warhawks Return COVID-19 protocol.  This session is expected to run from Dec. 29, 2020 – Jan. 15, 2021.

Already, the university had 954 students signed up for a course—an 8 percent increase over last year’s enrollment. 

“We are monitoring those winter enrollments pretty regularly so we make sure that all of one class isn’t filled. That way we can add additional sections as needed,” said John Fons, Interim Director of Continuing Education.

 Financial aid and housing are available during this session over the winter break. To receive financial aid students must meet certain criteria.

“There is an application that a student would need to fill out to see what their need would be. To be eligible, students must have completed a 20-21 FAFSA, be in good standing with Student Academic Progress and enrolled at least part-time in spring 2021,” said Fons. 

Although most students will be heading back home, there are still a number of students who will remain on campus throughout the duration of the break. 

Students staying in Starin Hall, Cambridge Apartments, Ma’iingan Hall, Wellers Hall and Wells East and West have access to the buildings and their rooms throughout winter break. Students living in other dorms need to complete a separate $50 contract and will be placed in a single room in one of the halls. 

Students looking to complete a contract can visit the Housing Contracts page on the university website.

Of the 46 online courses being offered this winter, professor Tracy Scherr is teaching her first winterim course, Introductory Psychology. 

“Well over 25 students have registered for it. I don’t have the most current count, but the enrollment looked pretty good. I was a bit surprised by that. So many students wanted to take an introductory course for winterim, so that’s exciting,” said Scherr. 

From that list, students can also choose to take a Dinosaur course. 

“I’ve actually taught the Dinosaur course in the winterim eight consecutive times,” said professor Rex Hanger. “People really like it. It’s a way to get some science in with some fun stuff. Everyone loves dinosaurs, and it is a general education class, so it fits most people’s AAR (Academic Advising Report) somewhere.”

Although there are some expected challenges due to the accelerated nature of winterim classes, there is optimism looking forward to them. 

“I think winterim courses will go pretty well for students and instructors because we’ve been using the technology more the last several months,” said Scherr.

There is still time for students to register. Enrollment ends on Dec. 29. For more information, visit the winterim page on the UW-Whitewater website.