Summer Course Enrollments Remain Strong at SDSU

“The success of our summer enrollment effort is only one part of a larger and more complex response to serving the needs of our diverse student population, especially within the context of COVID-19.”

Marking a continuing trend in the increased demand for online instruction, San Diego State University is seeing an increase in online summer course enrollments. 

As of July 2, more than 10,600 students were enrolled in SDSU summer sessions, which is up more than 24% over summer 2019. 

Each academic college is also reporting enrollment increases in enrollment between about 20 to 70 percent over Summer 2019. Notably, the Fowler College of Business and the College of Sciences saw a year-over enrollment increase of more than 20 percent and nearly 70 percent, respectively. 

“We are finding that students are not only accustomed to instruction in the online environment, but they are increasingly demanding the flexibility that online provides,” said SDSU Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Salvador Hector Ochoa. “What’s more, we are not only finding record increases year over year in our summer online enrollments, but students are more readily choosing to go full-time online during the summer.” 

SDSU has held two summer sessions, and the last summer session begins July 7. Summer registration remains open, and the deadline to register for the final summer session is July 15. New and transfer students are encouraged to register. 
All told, 555 faculty at SDSU and SDSU Imperial Valley are offering summer courses. African American history, American Indian history, economics, philosophy, statistics, public health, crime and law, photography, several mathematics and physical courses are among the summer offerings.

Based on current projections, data suggest that SDSU will see at least a 30 percent enrollment increase over last year by the end of summer, said SDSU Vice Provost Radmila Prislin. 

“SDSU is in a remarkable period of growth for summer online courses, and we are grateful that the offering of our faculty continues to resonate with and serve the needs of our students,” Prislin said. 
SDSU has, for years, increased the number of online course offerings in the summer. Such an effort has been primarily driven to offer opportunities for students to reduce time to graduation. Summer courses also allow students to free time during the academic year to focus on research, creative activities, internships, service and other work in support of their personal and professional goals. 

Chicago-native Josh Strelitz opted to take three summer courses, in journalism, public health and sociology, to help ensure that he can graduate by May 2021. The summer coursework also allows Strelitz to have a lighter course load during the academic year. 

“These courses are helping me by helping me get ahead. They are also teaching me more about things that happen in our communities and how to be a better user and consumer of social media,” said Strelitz, a sociology senior who has a minor in public health. After graduation, he plans to pursue a master's degree in public health. “I am able to learn a lot in the six weeks without having too heavy of a course load.” 

In June, SDSU announced plans for SDSU Flex, the campus-wide solution for continuing academic, research, and business plans during Fall 2020. In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and respecting physical distancing guidelines, the university plans to offer more than 200 courses in person. All other courses will be offered virtually during the fall. 

“The success of our summer enrollment effort is only one part of a larger and more complex response to serving the needs of our diverse student population, especially within the context of COVID-19,” Ochoa said. “Our data indicates that this upward enrollment trajectory will only continue especially as our university and our committed instructional faculty continue to offer flexible offerings to our students.”