During the spring semester, the university offers five weekend-seminar classes for students who need to fill a one-hour credit. These unique academic offerings, including four Bible courses and a personal finance seminar, were developed to accommodate students with busy schedules, heavy course loads and different learning styles.
University Registrar Tod Martin said that weekend classes cover useful subjects and appeal to certain students because they offer information in a condensed manner.
“Some students learn better in a concentrated environment,” Martin said. “There are students who like to get in, get it done and finish it quickly. Students who like that learning style will find these classes could be a good fit for them.”
Senior Morgan Smith took the Bible seminar “Sync/Swim” because he needed one more credit hour to meet scholarship requirements. After initially thinking the class would be boring because of the long sessions, Smith said he was impressed with what he learned.
“My favorite part of the class was the atmosphere,” Smith said. “It was more laidback and discussion-oriented. I feel like I got more out of it because I wasn’t just listening to a lecture. They realized the short amount of time they had and taught it in a way so that we would get the best information out of it.”
Martin said that efforts made by faculty members to include options like weekend classes are all in service of students. Professor of finance Steve Williams said that he has been working for 15 years without success to include personal finance in the graduation requirements for every student. In order to make the course more available to all majors, Williams said the college of business took the idea of a weekend seminar from the College of Bible and Ministry.
“Students have a need to understand personal finance topics,” Williams said. “We decided as a college that we would offer a one-hour weekend version for students who can’t build in a 3-hour course.”
Williams said the course features several guests from the business department and the community speaking on a range of topics including budgeting, credit, insurance and retirement planning.
Although these style-classes only meet for a few days total, the content and coursework are intended for students who take the subject seriously. Martin said that weekend classes are not to be considered an easy A.
“It’s a good idea to know all the work involved before you sign up,” Martin said. “I would tell students to take a look at the syllabus, talk to the teacher and get a real good sense of exactly what will be required of you before you sign up.”
Deadlines to add seminar classes can be found within the departments that offer them. All students wishing to drop a weekend class must do so before the start date of the class.
