Kim Chaudoin | 615.966.6494|
When one thinks of summer, thoughts of carefree days, sun and vacations come to mind.
At Lipscomb University, summer means unique opportunities for learning, travel study courses, academic camps, internships and more. Lipscomb’s summer program was recently ranked No. 20 in the nation by Best College Reviews for its quality and creativity.
According to a release by Best College Reviews announcing its picks for the Top 50 College Summer Programs, researchers “scoured the nation and found some of the most interesting and unique summer opportunities available, and many combine all the elements that make for a great summer break without the thought of falling behind.”
Other institutions joining Lipscomb in the top 20 are Cornell University, Yale University, Wheaton College, UCLA, Case Western Reserve University, Stanford University and Creighton University. Lipscomb ranked higher than Vanderbilt University, Ohio State University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of California-Berkeley, Columbia University and Baylor University.
“It is exciting to see Lipscomb University continue to be recognized as a top institution in the nation,” said Brian Mast, associate provost for student success.“Every person on this campus works diligently to provide the best student experience, not only during the traditional fall and spring semesters but also during Wintermester and summer terms. This honor reflects the commitment Lipscomb has for creating valuable, meaningful summer opportunities that will positively impact student learning.”
The Best College Review noted Lipscomb’s Career Development Center internship program as one of the unique aspects of the university’s summer programs. If students to take at least nine credit hours in the summer they can be credited up to three credit hours of internship courses for free. In addition to this incentive, students working in an internship (paid or unpaid, on or off-campus, part or full-time) can receive academic credit for their time.“This valuable experience provides students with a chance to earn money while catching up on credits,” according to the Best College Review report.
Lipscomb’s summerterm also offers avariety of full credit academic courses including online courses, on campus courses, and study abroad experiences.Summer term coursesare open to all college students, college graduates andeligible commuting high school juniors and seniors.
For high school students, the university offers specificdual enrollmentcoursesand a residentialSummer Scholarsprogram, allof which provide college credit for courses completed. A variety of academic and athleticsummer campsfor students of all ages. Among the summer programs designed for elementary, middle and high school students include the Forensic Science Academy, the Lipscomb/Nissan BisonBot Robotics camp, IMPACT, journalism camp, law camp, Lipscomb-HCA/TriStar Health Care Academy, the Fine Arts Summer Academy, Summer Experience @ Lipscomb Academy and sports camps in basketball, baseball, cross country, soccer, softball, tennis and volleyball.
“Summer programs give students opportunities and options outside of regular semesters. Students may find that summer is a great opportunity to work on improving a grade point average as well as taking pre-requisite courses. Students may find it is easier to focus on a smaller load during summer terms. We always encourage students to engage in conversations with their academic advisor when making decisions about summer offerings,” said Mast.
The top 20 ranking and the popularity of Lipscomb’s summer programs is a result of an intentional effort to enhance offerings several years ago.
“Students were looking for courses that they could take that would help them complete their academic requirements. And, summer was a great time for students to catch up or get ahead in their academic curriculum,” said Susan Galbreath, vice provost for academic and financial affairs. “Some students might have struggled with completing a class in the regular term and summer is a great opportunity for them to retake the class and focus only on the requirements for that class. Other students want to continue making progress on their undergraduate curriculum in the summer because they have plans to attend graduate school or take a particular job after their undergraduate program.”
Galbreath said university officials looked to meet those needs by offering more options during the summer term, typically a slower time on the campus. Students were surveyed to discover what they wanted in a summer program.
From the what was learned from students in the survey, Galbreath said summer class times were changed, the class schedule was reorganized to reduce conflicts, more online courses were created, more courses were offered in subjects that students tended to transfer in, the summer tuition rate was restructured and a campaign was launched to inform students and faculty advisors about the financial aid opportunities that are available during the summer term.
“For example, a specific thing we learned was that students overwhelmingly preferred summer classes to begin at8 a.m. and not7:30 a.m.as in our old summer class schedule,” she said. “So we changed our summer class start times to8 a.m. Students also told us they had to take courses atanother university while at home in the summer to keep making progress on their studies but that they would rather take Lipscomb courses. So, we created and offered moreonline summer courses so students wouldn't need to take courses at other universities.”
Galbreath said the provost’s office has continued to revise and update the summer program to meet student needs. For example, in 2014, the free internship summer option for students enrolled in nine credit hours — that caught the attention of Best College Review editors — was added.
In addition, more general education courses that fill up quickly in the fall and spring terms have been offered in recent summer terms in addition to more online courses that may be taken in the summer to help students fulfill requirements for a specific minor or concentration. Along with a beefed up program, a campaign to encourage students to take advantage of these summer options in an effort to “catch up and get ahead” in their coursework resulted in a 24 percent increase in summer undergraduate enrollment in the first summer of the revamped program.
“We continue to have strong summer enrollments and even added a new, compressed term called Wintermester that is offered in December and January that offers a limited set of courses,” said Galbreath. “In this term, our goal is to offer courses that are unique and can't be easily offered in a regular term, such as travel and experiential courses.”
But the real secret behind the success of Lipscomb’s summer programs?
“Our summer program offerings rely on lots of good people here working toward the same goal: meeting the needs of students,” said Galbreath. “Faculty willing to create new, online courses and then teach those courses in the summer. Academic staff willing to change the times summer classes are offered. Information technology staff willing to build a robust technology infrastructure to support more online courses. Financial aid staff willing to help get the message out about summer financial aid options. Faculty advisors reminding students that summer courses are a possible solution to help them catch up or get ahead in their coursework. And, I'm not surprised by all this help because we have lots of good people here at Lipscomb who are always willing to do whatever it takes to meet the needs of our students.”
For more information about Lipscomb’s summer programs, visit www.lipscomb.edu/summerprograms.
— Photos by Kristi Jones
