Serendipity35

Summer on campus is quiet. Fewer classes, fewer students than during the regular academic calendar. There's even less motivation to blog because there are always fewer readers checking in during the summer.

Flying in the face of all that is the fact that more than a dozen New Jersey colleges and universities are reporting spikes in summer enrollment, according to a Star-Ledger survey of two-and four-year schools. Of the 20 schools surveyed by The Star-Ledger, 15 reported increases in both summer enrollment and the number of credit hours taken by students.

Amongst the top reasons why enrollment has increased is the economy. Though it may seem counter-intuitive to the general public, when the economy is poor, enrollment goes up.

Taking classes during summer session was once seen as "remedial" like "summer school" for the K-12 world. But summer classes are much more accepted and common for all students now. I taught an online grad class during summer session 1. Although it's an intense every day experience, it's also over in six weeks.

The schools reporting the largest increases included: Hudson County Community College (11 percent), Rowan University (up 10 percent), my own Passaic County Community College (10 percent), and Union County College (16.6 percent).