Summer school registration numbers are up for the first time in a decade at Ball State University.
Tom Taylor, vice president for enrollment, marketing and communication. said while the number of students living on campus is down by 4.8% from last year, the number of off-campus students has risen by 7.2%.
"I'm only speculating, but I think in this challenging economy, students want to get ahead in completing their course of study and make sure they're staying on track to get their degree," Taylor said.
Nancy Cronk, the director of registration and academic progress, said she agrees that hard economic times are affecting students' decision to enroll in summer courses.
"Students recognize that education and training help in the job search," Cronk said.
The decision to enroll in summer school is a balance between the ability to pay the up-front cost and the long-term advantages of higher education and training in the search for a career, Cronk added.
"College is expensive," she said. "More and more, we see students having to balance those two factors."
John Taylor, a first-year graduate student, said he wanted to return to school to better his chances at getting a good job. After getting his bachelor's degree in manufacturing, Taylor decided to work towards a master's in applied statistics.
"I'm trying to go into a recession-proof field," Taylor said. "The manufacturing field isn't doing so well right now."
Other students say the economy had no sway in their decision to take summer courses.
"No, not at all," sophomore computer science major Jeff Riggle said.
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