For Winona State University students looking to get on track for early graduation, a session of J Term classes will be offered from Dec. 11 to Jan. 10.
Winona State announced it will be offering J Term through an email sent to all students on Oct. 30.
This is the first year the university has offered J Term.
Heather Dieterman, the assistant director of the Adult and Continuing Education (ACE) department, explained why J Term is a great option for students.
“We think that, obviously, there are some students who have had to make some difficult choices with not taking as full of a [class] load as they might have initially wanted, and we wanted to really help students either catch up, keep up or get ahead in their studies,” Dieterman said.
Due to impacts COVID-19 created on the academic year at Winona State, many students have already taken advantage of J Term.
The opportunity to register for J Term began on Nov. 2, the same day as spring course registration. Since then, three J Term classes have been filled.
“I think departments did a great job at selecting their course schedules so that students could find value and go through that term to meet their ultimate goal,” Dieterman said.
Linda D’Amico, a global studies professor at Winona State, is teaching a J Term class.
“J Term benefits students in various ways,” D’Amico said. “Students can catch up and advance their academic career to meet graduation requirements.
They can take courses to enhance their interests. The intensive classes are timely and expeditious.”
Currently, there are 14 undergraduate classes available to take during the J Term, along with one postgraduate class in nursing.
Dieterman said with COVID being an additional worry this winter season, many students will be indoors for most of their winter break. With the J term option, students will not only have something to do, but something productive to gain.
“Being able to take that time [during break] and still have good time with your family, but be able to make progress toward degree completion so that you’re not penalized any more than you already have been, that was really the intention [of adding J Term],” Dieterman said.
Dieterman also mentioned the importance of consulting workers from financial aid when considering J Term courses.
“Our financial aid office is ready and equipped to consult on J term,” Dieterman said. “Specifically with students, to use the resources that are available to you on campus and figure out if this is a great opportunity for you to get ahead in your studies and maybe graduate on time or graduate earlier than you anticipated.”
J Term classes will be added to students’ spring semester tuition.