GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – To increase student success, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College will transition nearly all courses from 15 weeks to eight weeks, this fall.
The college is calling it the 8-Week Advantage.
Kathryn Rogalski, Vice President of Learning says it allows students to put more focus on each class.
“If they are full-time students, instead of taking five classes in a semester, they are now going to take three classes in the first eight-week session and then two classes in the next eight-week session.”
According to national data, eight-week courses result in increased success and completion rates.
“We found that in our own classes, students that took classes in eight weeks or less actually did better than students who took a 15 or 16-week course.”
With eight-week classes, students meet less frequently each week but for longer periods of time.
Rogalski says a many of their students are part-time, meaning they take 1 class each semester, but this will offer a new option.
“They will be able to take two classes in a semester because they will be able to take one in the first eight weeks and one in the second eight weeks.”
Rogalski says it allows students to put more focus on each class, but means students should prepare for using their time wisely.”Time management is going to be important for students.”
She says students will get more material in a shorter amount of time, but they will also have a better understanding of where they are in that class sooner than normal because quite a bit will be evaluated in the first couple of weeks.
More than 3,500 students graduated from NWTC last year with degrees and certificates in high-demand fields such as health care, as well as information and engineering technology.
