Between fall and spring semesters, students have the chance to participate in a unique learning experience called interterm. But with the changes to credit-hour requirements, put into place by the Higher Learning Commission, interterm has a bit of a different feel this year. Students are expected to take more of their part of the learning, causing more homework than some may be used to.

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Math Instructor Eric Hays has been teaching his interterm, Introduction to Board Games, for eight years now. Before this year the class was a three-credit-hour course. But because of new emphasis on requirements, he was forced to reduce it down to just one-credit-hour. He said that, with his syllabus, there was no way he could meet the HLC requirements.

“I wanted students to focus on playing the games,” Hays said. “They still have to read the rules and write papers, but I wanted them to still be able to play the games and have fun. I didn’t want them to be swamped with work.”

Even though it is only one-credit-hour, he still believes students are getting a worthwhile experience out of the class.

Senior Kaylin McCrary said she enjoys her class, Geocaching: A Modern Day Treasure Hunt, but finds the day-to-day course work a little easy with her senior status.

“Interterm is really designed for freshmen,” McCrary said. “It’s different, because a lot of the things you learn over the years as a student, these freshmen haven’t learned yet. They don’t have the same experiences as far as writing papers and the way professors are, because they’re still not used to it.”

Geocaching is similar to a treasure hunt, where people search for caches, or hidden containers, but because of the weather the class cannot be held outside every day. Instead there are many classroom lessons on history of both Baker and Baldwin City. McCrary believes that, for freshmen, the experience is probably very beneficial.

“It’s a good time for freshmen to get a little extra practice on writing the way professors expect them to write in college as opposed to high school, and for me it’s almost second nature because I’m more familiar with how college is like and what professors expect from college students,” McCrary said.

Kaylin’s sister, freshman Madeline McCrary, is enrolled in the Personal Finance interterm course. For her, interterm was less about a unique experience and more geared toward what will help her in the long run.

“I’ve always been interested in money and budgeting for myself, so I knew this class would be something that I’m interested in and that could help me in the future,” Madeline said. “I think there should be these kind of choices for students too because everyone finds different things interesting.”

Some students took their learning on the road and utilized the opportunity for traveling.

Senior Emma Tinsley is spending her two weeks in Yucatan, with Associate Professor of History Leonard Ortiz’s Yucatan Adventure interterm. Here, the students have a chance to explore different Mayan ruins and learn of the Mexican culture. Tinsley said she has always been interested in the idea of a travel interterm and finally decided to take advantage of it in her last year.

“This trip offered a once in a lifetime opportunity, from repelling into cenotes to visiting Mayan villages,” Tinsley said. “I am learning things I never knew about the culture, both Mayan and Mexican, and now I have a greater understanding of both.”

Although the cost associated with the trip was a bit of a setback for Tinsley, as it is with many students, she finds it to be worth the experience.

“When deciding on this interterm, I don’t think I would have been able to come by myself for the price we paid and have the same experiences that I’m having,” Tinsley said.

Both of the McCrary sisters see interterm as a good transition into the start of the spring semester.

“I like the idea of interterm because it’s a little preparation for the spring semester, instead of going from break straight to a full schedules,” Madeline said. “It’s more gradual. Plus, it’s also fun because you can see your friends.”