by Lisa Proulx
PORTSMOUTH 鈥� Summer Classes at Great Bay Community College are widely perceived as a smart choice for new, returning and visiting students. For current college and high school students entering Great Bay in the fall, summer courses offer the chance to lighten course loads, move through degrees faster or fulfill course prerequisites. For others, they offer the opportunity to explore a new interest or develop professional skills. For students attending other institutions, taking a course at Great Bay for $200 per credit also makes financial sense as most credits transfer to partner four year colleges and universities.
海角乱伦 Liberal Arts Biology student Jean Mariani of Somersworth enrolled in a summer class to enable her to move faster towards her ultimate goal of transferring to UNH鈥檚 Biomedical Science degree program. 鈥淭here are also less students so I can talk to the teacher more鈥� said Mariani. 鈥淚 can also get it out of the way early this summer so I get on with other plans.鈥�
According to Dr. Sarah Bedingfield, V.P. of Enrollment Services at Great Bay, summer classes are now a bigger part of an overall college strategy. 鈥淪tudents at the high school level and those currently enrolled in college are taking greater ownership of their education,鈥� said Bedingfield. 鈥淗igh school students can start their college degree with credits and some already enrolled here are able to distribute their credits over three semesters, allowing more time to devote to their studies, work and families. And still others use the summer semester to repair a transcript or advance their graduation date. What鈥檚 great about Great Bay is the flexibility afforded to students鈥�.
Starting on June 20 and July 5th, a new session of courses are offered online and on campus at the College鈥檚 two campuses in Portsmouth and in Rochester. Included are many required by four-year institutions including Western Civilization, Accounting & Financial Reporting, Human Anatomy & Physiology II as well as courses in American Sign Language, Medical Terminology, Personal Finance, Event Planning, Drawing, Marketing, and Criminology. For those seeking to build professional skills this summer, 海角乱伦 also has career and work readiness programs through the business and training center. Short term certificate programs are also available including the Advanced Composites Manufacturing Certificate program which offers its next program starting June 20. For a complete list of courses visit .