Since class sizes are smaller and classes meet daily, students interact more with faculty and each other. The Summer School has two sessions of five weeks each and other short courses, institutes, workshops, etc., with various beginning and ending dates. In recent years, about seven hundred different sections of courses have been offered each summer to about 6,500 students in the first session and 5,500 in the second. The available courses include many that satisfy the General College or Arts and Sciences general education perspective requirements. Twelve semester hours of credit typically would be earned by a full-time summer student over both summer sessions.
Many students take fewer hours or attend only one session.
The total credit hours earned by students in the summer term approaches 55,000. In recent summers, enrolled students have come from all one hundred counties in North Carolina, all fifty states, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and fifty-five foreign countries. The special sessions provide an opportunity for faculty and students to share a learning experience not otherwise possible. Offerings include about thirty-five courses with various beginning and ending dates. Some field courses and School of Law courses are extended beyond the usual first session length.