Students heading online for summer classes

Summer classes begin Monday at Ozarks Technical Community College, but the parking lots won’t be as packed with cars and the hallways as jammed with students as during the fall and spring semesters.

That’s because many students will be firing up their computers and connecting online to take their summer classes at OTC at their convenience.

As of the start of this week, nearly 2,000 students were enrolled in at least one online course. That’s about half of the total summer enrollment. That number is expected to increase as summer enrollment continues through the middle of next week.

“The percentage of visiting students taking online courses increases greatly in the summer because of both the convenience factor and the cost effectiveness of OTC Online’s courses. Online enrollment in the summer is big and OTC Online is one of the fastest-growing areas within the college because of the needs of students,” said C. DeWitt Salley Jr., College Director of OTC Online.

“I believe convenience is the main reason students take online courses in the summer. They can still travel, vacation, work, or do whatever else they want while getting ahead or catching up in their college careers.”

The popularity of online courses at OTC has been growing over the years.

In the just-completed spring semester, more than 6,400 students took online courses. The students, connecting to OTC Online from all over the world, enrolled in 397 separate course sections. OTC offers five associate degrees and two technical certificates entirely online.

This summer, online courses are being offered in everything from anthropology and environmental science to social psychology and technology for teachers. The courses are so popular that a number of sections are at capacity.

Looking ahead, Salley said OTC Online would continue to work to meet students’ needs for more courses.

“OTC Online strives to serve more and more students by developing new, innovative, and needed online courses, programs, and partnerships. The community can expect OTC to continue being a leader in online teaching and learning among community colleges nationwide,” he said.

Steve Koehler is coordinator of publications at Ozarks Technical Community College. Contact him at koehlers@otc.edu.