All I want for Christmas is more classes?

Mercer will be offering
classes over the winter
break for the first time
this December and January.
Almost 30 courses
will be offered, both on
campus and online, giving
students a way to
brush up on core skills
or accelerate their path
to a degree by fitting in a
few extra credits. Students
from other colleges may
also use the opportunity
to take classes while on
holiday break.

The new winter
session will offer two different
varieties of classes.
First there are three-week
courses that will be offered
from January 4, 2010
to January 22, 2010. These
classes will meet three or
four days a week. The second
kind of classes will
be offered online through
Mercer's Virtual College.
These courses will be six
weeks long, beginning
December 21, 2009 and
running until February 1,
2010. Although not every
course will be available
during the new session,
the college believes it will
be beneficial to students
and the public.

"Mercer was one
of three community colleges
in the state of New
Jersey that did not have
a winter session. We believe
we are providing a
need," said Dr. Donald
Generals, Vice President
for Academic Affairs at
Mercer.

The new winter
session will mark the first
time in Mercer's history
that classes will be held
during the winter break.
Registration for both sessions
began on October
26, and initial interest has
been high.

"There was interest
and based on early
enrollment, that interest
continues. Two classes
filled after the second day
of early registration. We
are adding new sections
after the first week of early
registration," said Generals.

Josh Onoroti,
a sophomore business
major at Mercer, plans
to take a class during the
winter session. "I have to
take Macroeconomics for
my major and the winter
session is convenient because
I can get the class
over with in less than a
month," he says.

The college is also
hoping that non-Mercer
students who want to get
ahead or catch up during
their winter break from
another college will sign
up. "We have advertised
the session to the public
and Mercer students,"
said Savita Bambhrolia,
Director of Admissions
and Outreach at Mercer.

Sam Kelly, a student
at Delaware Valley
College, said she may
take advantage of the
winter session at Mercer.
"I might have to because
I have way too many science
class requirements
so I just don't have time
for the other stuff," she
said.

While the winter
session offers students
more options than they
previously had, it is not
necessarily helpful to all
students because the options
of courses to take
are still limited.

Since Mercer offers
courses in over 60 different
disciplines, the largest
of which, Information
Systems Technology
(IST), itself contains over
30 different courses, the
courses being offered
over the winter represent
only a small portion of
what is available in the fall
and spring.

"The problem for me is
that none of the courses I need
to take are being offered [during
the winter session]," says
Brendan Belluscio, a first-year
politics major who transferred
to Mercer from Wake Forest.

The decisions of which
classes would be offered in each
of the disciplines were made by
their respective deans, according
to Generals. "[Their] decision
was based on their view
of high demand courses and
courses that were adaptable to
a short term," he said.

In order to fulfill the
course requirements, students
must complete the same
amount of course work as during
a typical 15 week semester,
but in less than half the time.
"The courses will contain
the same information; and
students will be expected to
meet the same academic standards,"
said Generals.

In order to do this, students
will need to spend more
time in class each week. "Similar
to the summer sessions, the
time will be condensed. For
example, the average 3 credit
course will require class attendance
for four days a week
and three and a half hours each
day," Generals said.

The Arts and Communications
Division, the Business
and Technology Division, the
Science and Health Professions
Division, and the Liberal Arts
Division are all offering courses
on the West Windsor Campus
during the winter session.
Three courses are available
on the James Kerney campus.
They include English Brush-Up
(ENG 036) which is designed
for strong students who narrowly
failed ENG 034 or ENG
024 in the fall semester, African
American History (HIS 109),
and Tech Studio (IST 033).

A complete list of
courses available during the
winter session and their prerequisites
is available on Mercer's
website.

The deadline to register
for on-campus classes is
December 23 in-person and
January 4 online. The deadline
to register for online classes is
December 21 both in-person
and online. Any changes to the
list will be viewable on Mercer's
website.