Summer sessions kick off at ECU

Summer school sessions kicked off at East Carolina University on Monday with students, faculty and staff being back on campus, abroad or online to begin classes.

Front Office Administrator for the Office of Registrar at ECU, Kaymber Whitehurst, said there are three different summer sessions students can take part in.

“There are two five week summer sessions – summer one and summer two – and one 11-week summer session,” Whitehurst said.

Session one courses, she said, run from May 15 to June 20, and session two courses run from June 22 to July 28. Whitehurst said the 11-week summer session takes place over the span of the whole summer, from May 15 to July 28.

Taking summer classes on campus, abroad or online can leave students with various opportunities, she said.

“Summer classes provide opportunities for students to take classes to stay on track for graduation,” Whitehurst said. “Also, to work on classes in an abbreviated term during the five week sessions.”

The same amount of classes were available in 2022, she said, as there are in 2023. When it comes to the deadlines to add or drop classes for individual terms, Whitehurst said, the dates can be found in the academic calendars for classes at ECU.

According to the academic calendar for the Summer Sessions 2023, the last day for registration and schedule adjustments for the first and 11-week summer session was yesterday at 5 p.m. For the second summer session, as written in the academic calendar, students have time to add or drop classes until June 23 by 5 p.m.

Caleb Joseph, senior psychology and German double major, said he is enrolled in the first and second summer session.

“For the first summer session, I’m taking classes online,” Joseph said. “Then, I’m taking my second session in Berlin, which is actually a four week program. The first part will cover one of my psychology classes. The nice thing about studying abroad in Berlin is that you can take German classes while you're there. That's what I did last summer, so I don’t take those at ECU anymore.”

His decision to improve his language skills in Germany, he said, helps him feel less rushed. Joseph said instead of learning German in a classroom, he has an immersion experience while being abroad, learning both about a new language and culture at the same time.

Taking classes in the summer, he said, will help him lower the workload he would otherwise have to face in the fall semester.

“I chose to take these classes this summer so that I could have an easier load in the fall,” Joseph said. “This next semester will be my last semester, so now I only have to do two classes instead of 15 credit hours, which will be nice. I’ll benefit because I’ll be able to finish up graduation instead of extending out these classes to another semester or a year.”

Another reason why he chose to take summer classes, Joseph said, is to be able to focus and be more present in the courses he is taking. Instead of having to deal with multiple classes at a time during the spring or fall semesters, he said, he is only enrolled in one or two classes.

Victor Aguilar, sophomore major hispanic studies, said he is taking one class during the first summer session on campus this year.

“I chose to take KINE 1000 on campus because it’ll give me the opportunity to focus only on one subject which pertains to my major and not worry about it during the fall semester,” Aguilar said. “Plus, it’ll give me time to only focus on that class.”

Going to school during the summer, he said, will help him graduate in four years since he kept pushing back taking KINE 1000 in the past.

On top of that, Auguilar said, completing one class in the summer will give him a head start in his studies.

“I’m looking forward to finishing the class and learning as much as I can,” Auguilar said. “I will happily come back next fall!”

For the remainder of the summer, he said, he is looking forward to spending time with his family in Charlotte and taking some vacation time to “recover” himself from all the school work he has done.