Though it seems that the semester just started, midterms are already under way, fall break is just around the corner and not very long after that the spring semester timetable will hit the stands (or rather a table in the Records and Registration office). Enrollment time is always fun for me because I love to plan. I love looking at all of the course titles and descriptions and deciding what I want to learn about. I like knowing exactly where I am in my four-year plan, and I enjoy the puzzle of working everything into my schedule. However, spring enrollment time is also frustrating because it is also interterm enrollment time. And interterm enrollment time just makes me mad at Baker.
If you think you know where I’m going with this article, you’re probably wrong. I don’t hate interterm. In fact, I really like it. It was one of the things that attracted me to Baker, and I’m glad I go to a school that offers it. I like having the opportunity to take unique classes that provide experiences I might not get elsewhere. Last January, for example, I took the Irish dancing class. I’ve wanted to learn Irish dancing since I was in grade school, so I was thrilled to see it on the schedule. When else would I have had the opportunity to learn something like that, especially for free (kind of) and within walking distance of my home?
It’s a great deal, but not great enough. The main reason I like the idea of interterm is because it provides students with an opportunity to, in the words of Napoleon Dynamite’s Uncle Rico, “do something while you’re doing nothing.” Since we only take one class, we still have plenty of time to relax, but are accomplishing something as well. Or so it would seem.
Interterm, however, does very little to help students toward earning their degrees. Interterm classes (with the exception of the experiential learning/internship ones) only fulfill the university’s interterm requirement; they do not help students fulfill other general education or major requirements. Instead of doing something while they’re doing nothing, students end up accomplishing nothing while they’re doing something.
This is not to say that any time spent in not-for-credit-one-can-actually-use interterm classes is wasted. I am certainly a proponent of learning for learning’s sake. But I am also a proponent of graduating on time. Interterm can be a great way to make this happen. Baker just needs to make a few changes to the program.
For starters, the university should offer some gen ed courses during the session. They could either be very compacted versions of the traditional classes (college algebra, geology, etc.,) or they could be unique alternatives to them. My Irish dancing class, for example, should count for a physical education credit (or three), and the filmmaking class I took my freshman year could fulfill the creative activities requirement. The students who took that Southern politics class a couple years ago should get some kind of history or political science credit for it.
The school could also offer more specialized classes that would apply to student’s majors. For example, if one slapped a couple of prerequisites on that Southern politics course, allowing for a higher level of discussion, it could probably turn into a fine addition to one’s political science or history degree.
The administration might not like the idea of offering interterm classes that double as gen ed courses since interterm is, itself, part of the gen ed requirements. There should be nothing wrong, however, with applying credit from interterm classes to one’s major, as credit from other gen ed classes can work to fulfill a student’s major requirements.
Interterm is a good deal, (buy one semester of Baker education, and we’ll throw in an extra three-week session absolutely free) but it could be a great one. Why get just the Magic Bullet when you could get the blender, juice extractor kit and recipe book as well?