El Camino College students can sign up for free mirrored noncredit classes to receive an introduction to programs the college provides which could help increase enrollment.
English as a Second Language Professor Matthew Kline said during the March 5 Academic Senate meeting some benefits of taking mirrored noncredit courses include how the courses open up student opportunities and enrollment.
“There are two main reasons, two that I want to highlight,” Kline said. “No. 1 is outreach. It’s a non-credit course with no tuition, so it’s free. No. 2 is that it’s free and extremely low-stakes. The grade does not count towards your credited GPA.”
Kline said these courses can improve programs on campus which have low enrollment numbers.
“There is a welding instructor from [Mt. San Antonio College] who I have heard say several times that mirrored noncredit courses saved his program because his credit course had very low enrollment,” he said.
Mirrored courses are “like sister courses,” Kline said when discussing his ESL 53A class, a credited course with the option of a noncredit course alongside it.
Amy Herrschaft, academic counselor for the International Students Program who attended the meeting, asked about possibly turning a noncredited class into a credited one.
Kline informed the Academic Senate mirrored classes are the same as credited classes with the same amount of work.
Carlos Lopez, vice president of academic affairs, added to Kline’s statement and said students always have the “option to petition” the course for a credited course.
“So, a lot of students who may be on the fence about taking a class in a program might be pushed over to the other side when they realize they can get an introduction to the program for free,” Kline said.
Editor’s Note: Article and photo caption altered to correct inaccurate title of Matthew Kline on March 18, at 3:40 p.m.
