A 12 percent increase in enrollment was reported following Murray State’s third consecutive year of offering students the chance to take classes over Winter Break as part of Winter Term.

From Dec. 16 to Jan. 8, 204 students could choose from 27 courses offered online. Four more courses were offered during this term than last and 22 more students were enrolled.

Jay Morgan, vice president of Academic Affairs, introduced the idea of implementing Winter Term three years ago.

Morgan said he thought offering Winter Term would be a good way for students and faculty to utilize the down time between semesters and be more productive while away from campus.

“The Winter Term was designed to be an online semester where students could either catch up or get ahead in graduating on time or hopefully even early,” he said. “It’s a good opportunity to make up a course if you need to and it’s turned out to be a very successful program.”

Morgan said when first implementing the term in 2011 he anticipated a slow growth in student enrollment of anywhere from 10 to 15 percent and, thus far, it’s followed this trend.

For the next two to four years he said he foresees similar growth as students get used to and become more aware of the opportunity being offered.

The courses offered during Winter Term change from year to year and are decided by the professors and chairs of the departments teaching in the given semester, not mandated by Murray State.

He said one of the main factors is if there is enough student interest in a specific course.

Ihsan Alkhatib, an assistant professor in the College of Humanities and Fine Arts, has taught a business law class online for the past two winter terms and said he plans to teach more classes in future Winter Terms if there is a demand for it.

Alkhatib said the classes he teaches during Winter Term differ from the classes he teaches during the typical fall and spring in terms of the types of assignments and material he supplies students, with which are tailored to fit the three-week long time constraint.

“The advantage of the Winter Term for the student is that in a short period the student finishes a course,” Alkhatib said. “The disadvantage is that the course requires a big commitment of time and effort from the student: time and effort almost as much as that required by a full-time course-load semester.”

He said communicating with students primarily through email and not being able to meet with students in person also was a marked difference between Winter Term and the fall and spring semesters.

He said the feedback he’s received from his students has been positive and more students enrolled in his course this Winter Term than last.

Morgan said students looking to enroll in courses in future Winter Terms should not necessarily look at previous terms as a guide for what classes will be offered.

Every Winter Term, Morgan said Murray State looks for new courses to offer students and tries to make different classes available than in previous terms in addition to those classes which may have been previously offered.

He said the process of planning out the 2014 Winter Term and what classes will be offered will begin around August or September.

Story by Ben Manhanke, Assistant News Editor