Students reap the benefits of online schools during the school

Online summer school has many benefits

For most U.S. college students, summer is a time for rest and relaxation. However, a growing number of students are making use of the free time and continuing their education through online courses.

Attending class in the summer has many advantages. For example, classes are often much less expensive in the summer than during traditional school months. At Boston University, summer school costs $2,120 per class, while courses cost $4,736 each during the academic year, the Boston Globe reports.

Some students take summer classes because they want to double major, while other students do so because there is typically less competition for spots in popular classes.

"Nearly everybody reported an uptick in registration, particularly online," Bill McClure, head of the summer program at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst (UMass-Amherst) and incoming president of the North American Association of Summer Sessions, told the news source.

Last summer, UMass-Amherst had approximately 4,900 students enrolled in online courses, whereas 5,100 degree seekers attended on-campus classes. This year, nearly 6,000 students enrolled in online summer courses, but only 3,300 students are attending on-campus classes, according to the media outlet.

As a result, the number of summer programs offered by schools has exploded, according to Dennis Nunes, head of the summer program at St. Cloud State University. Five years ago, a total of 6 percent of summer students took online courses, whereas last year it was 26 percent, Nunes added.

Recent research shows that nearly one in four students has taken at least some college coursework online, Reuters reports. Today, nearly 4 million students are taking online courses, summer school included.

By Mark Danson