Students Crowd Winter Sessions
More than 7,700 students at Pierce and Valley colleges are spending their five-week winter break in class, helping make the colleges’ first such winter session a success, officials said Tuesday.
Valley College’s winter session began Jan. 2 and will continue through Feb. 3, two days before the spring semester starts. About 5,000 students have enrolled in about 140 winter session classes, which also are offered Saturdays.
“These students are committed,” said Shannon Stack, Valley College’s director of media services.
At Pierce College, the winter session attracted 2,703 students to 62 classes, which run Jan. 2 to Feb. 2.
Pierce College President Rocky Young said feedback on the compressed, five-day-a-week courses has been positive.
“I got a call from a faculty member who is having the time of his life because the students are so focused,” Young said. “We were hoping to get 35 students per class and we’re at nearly 44. It’s been real popular.”
The winter session was offered for the first time this year by Valley and Pierce because the colleges switched from an 18-week to a 15-week semester. Each college also will offer two summer sessions.
Mission College in Sylmar, which has remained on a traditional 18-week semester schedule, is on break with classes scheduled to resume Tuesday.
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