While some students enjoyed their winter break, others participated in Las Positas’ inaugural winter intersession, a new four-week term that attracted over 1,300 students. This session offered a diverse range of general education courses with no prerequisites, including anthropology, ethnic studies, psychology and more. According to LPC President Dyrell Foster, the winter intersession met students’s needs for efficient credit completion.
“Students appreciated that opportunity to knock out a class or two,” Foster said. “Overall, I thought it was a very successful term, especially for the first time that we’ve offered it.”
On Feb. 3, Vice President Nan Ho confirmed that 1,371 students were enrolled in the completed winter intersession. Ho added that by Dec. 1, the overall fill rate reached 96.7%, and by Dec. 8, it exceeded 99%.
LPC faculty who signed up to teach the accelerated courses were offered a four-week training session starting in early November by the Distance Education Committee. Faculty were compensated for participating in the training, which helped them prepare to condense a typical 16-17-week course into four weeks.
“It was definitely a very fast-paced session,” said communications professor Natalie Kellner. “Four weeks is just like breakneck speed. What prepared me for it was training, which was really helpful. We got to collaborate with other faculty who are also teaching over the four-week session.”
The student experience varied by course and individual. English major Nadianna Roy said the four-week format felt demanding. “I was really intense,” Roy said. “There was no chance to just catch your breath. You kind of have to learn everything.”
Despite the intensity, Roy said the format may have enhanced learning, estimating that she learned “probably more” than in a traditional semester. However, Roy said she would not take another winter intersession course.
Anthropology major Lila Munoz admitted she was initially intimidated by the workload, but found the consistent pace manageable. “I was really intimidated at first by the workload,” Munoz said. “I was genuinely surprised by how steady the workload was, and it never became overwhelming.”
However, Munoz noted that the compressed timeline conflicted with holiday observances.
“It was challenging since we had a lot of assignments due the day before and after Christmas, especially if you’re a Catholic and attend midnight mass,” Munoz said.
Kinesiology major Jacob Sanchez, who took sports psychology during the winter intersession, found the pace to be more manageable. “One assignment a day wasn’t too bad,” Sanchez said.
Communications major Larwence Thomas said the winter intersession worked in his favor. “It was much easier to manage because I was taking fewer classes at the time,” Thomas said. “My workload was lighter, which made balancing school responsibilities more manageable.”
Winter intersession is scheduled to return in the next academic year. The college is collecting input from faculty and students to determine any necessary adjustments for the future. Foster said administrators are particularly interested in faculty feedback about the teaching schedule and will determine the scope of next year’s program based on the input.
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TOP ILLUSTRATION: Illustration by Aaliyah Gholamipour/The Express
Kian Amininejad is the Senior staff writer of The Express. Follow him on X @Kian_Amininejad.
