Summer term updated, renovated

By Rachel Kramer

As the summer term approaches, Mt. Hood Community College is desgining a new program, the Summer Fastpass, to make summer classes more convient.

Geared at increasing summer enrollment, the new program contains several new aspects to make summer classed more convenient for high school seniors, current MHCC students, Oregon university students who are home for the summer, and adults looking to get further education.

High school seniors who will be taking the placement test in the spring will have several bundle options available to make the transition into college easier.
One new program, designed to be like a college ‘boot camp,’ will help seniors get the feel of college, according to Beth Pitonzo, associate vice president of instruction.
The program will focus on study skills and contain information about how to survive in college. According to Pitonzo, the course was designed to help get the students prepared for college life and familiar with the college system. This program is still underdevelopment.

Another new program is the course bundles. These are geared to current MHCC students as working individuals looking to take classes during the summer. The summer fast pass will offer 12-credit bundles of classes, focusing on reading, writing, math, humanities and a discipline specific course. The career pathways being targeted are manufacturing, allied health, business/retail/office management, environmental health and safety, computer applications, engineering technology and integrated media arts.
According to Pitonzo, these bundles are being designed to allow students to take general education classes and try out certain career paths.

“This is a great way to try something and see if it is for you,” she said.
Additionally, these course bundles meet financial aid requirements. The course bundles are 12 credits and are all degree applicable, according to Pitonzo. “You would apply for financial aid in the same way,” she said. “We are working with the director of finance to get information [available] quickly.”

According to Al Sigala, a campaign is being planned to advertise the new program. Current university students will be reached through newspaper ads in their school newspapers, as well as inserts at some time during the campaign. “We want to share with them what we are doing,” Sigala said.

The bundles offered were also created with this student market in mind. “We created a series of courses that you would expect a university or MHCC student to take between their freshman and sophomore and sophomore and junior years,” Pitonzo said.
High school students will receive mailers and have recruiters visit their schools.
According to Sigala, there will also be advertising in local newspapers, on the radio and on buses.

A website is also being developed to provide information to interested students. According to Sigala, the website will explain the program, as well as answer frequently asked questions.
The campaign costs have not been determined, but according to Sigala, it is going to be a big campaign. The radio ads will cost at least $10,000 and the newspaper advertising for the various universities will be about $1,000 a school. According to Sigala, they are still figuring the numbers.

Sigala and Pitonzo are also interested in getting the word out to MHCC students.
“Tell people,” Pitonzo said. “Tell your friends.”