The Humanities Division is offering 12-week classes this semester to El Camino College students who missed the opportunity to register for 16-week classes.
There are currently only three classes being offered with a 12-week option: a singular English 1A class and a dual English 1A and 1AS class.
This new class idea was discussed during the Tuesday, Sept. 19 Academic Senate meeting where Vice President Carlos Lopez said 12-week classes will begin on the Sept. 23 school week.
Dean of Humanities Scott Kushigemachi said 12-week classes aim to prevent students from getting discouraged if the normal 16-week classes are full.
With English 1A being a high demand class, Kushigemachi said it’s nice for students to have an alternative option.
“This saves them that frustration where they [worry if they] can still get into a class that’s open,” he said. “It’s geared for getting as many students in [classes], in the most convenient way possible.”
When these classes initially launched many students signed up for these classes and they filled up quickly. Based on the success rate of 12-week classes, the humanities division may look into adding more classes for students to register.
“If we learn that [adding more classes] really makes sense, then I think it’s something we should explore,” Kushigemachi said.
Kushigemachi also mentioned for-profit colleges make it easy for students to register for classes by having schedules that can start any time in the semester. In comparison, community colleges generally have two types of classes: 8-week and 16-week classes.
“We could learn from [for-profit colleges],” he said.
