UH system
adds three-week
winter term

Fifteen three-credit courses
will be offered at Leeward
Community college this year

By Pat Omandam
Star-Bulletin

This holiday season, the last thing on Paula Ann Sherron's mind will be Christmas shopping or New Year's Eve parties.
That's because Sherron will be hitting the books in Leeward Community College's experimental winter session, where a student can earn three college credits in just three weeks.

Sherron, a military spouse, said she registered for the Dec. 21 to Jan. 8 winter term because it gives her the perfect opportunity to complete her associate's degree in liberal arts. Although a full-time student this fall semester, she is a history course short of graduation. She didn't want to wait until next spring to take the course because she and her husband are moving to San Diego next summer.

"I think it's fabulous that Hawaii finally is getting with the program and offering the winter term, because there are so many people that only have one or two courses left, and this gives them a really good opportunity to take it and get out and move on," said Sherron, who has attended colleges in Texas and California that offered winter sessions.

Sharon Narimatsu, interim provost at Leeward Community College, said this is the first time students can earn credits in Hawaii's public university system during what is traditionally the winter break.

Narimatsu said the reasoning behind the session is to provide more services to students while maximizing the use of Leeward classrooms that are normally idle during the vacation period.

Tuition for the self-supporting session will cover operation of the facilities and pay for faculty to teach the courses, she said. Tuition is $87 per credit for residents; $130 per credit for non-residents. Call 455-0477 for more information.

Narimatsu said UH President Kenneth P. Mortimer and community college officials gave the idea the go ahead.

"We're trying to target students who are returning from the mainland who are here for the holidays and may want to pick up an extra three credits (toward) their degree," Narimatsu said.

"We're also appealing to military personnel and their dependents who may need just a few more credits before they transfer to another base," she said.

The session also gives secondary school teachers a chance to brush up on a course, as well as high school seniors age 17 and older to get a jump on their college career. Even people on vacation during the session could attend and earn college credits, she said.

The term will offer 15 courses, ranging from astronomy to world civilizations, political science to women's studies, all of which will meet core requirements for an associate's degree, said Douglas Dykstra, LCC assistant dean for academic support.

Dykstra said students will be limited to a single course in the winter because of the workload involved. Most classes will meet from 9 a.m. to noon every weekday, with only Christmas and New Year's Day off. The rule of thumb for study is two hours of homework per every hour of class, meaning students may spent up to nine hours a day toward study, he said.

Hawaii Pacific University junior Jo Dorscht found the statistics course she needs for her bachelor's of science in nursing degree at Leeward's winter session.

While HPU offers similar three-week winter terms, the registered nurse at Kaiser Hospital said the community college course is cheaper.