<p>Ddid i read here that some students have taken the summer lab in the summer after their expected graduation date? </p>
<p>i could be mixing stories up, but i thought i might have read that the student(s) were able to walk with their class in may but finish the lab in the summer?</p>
<p>if so, this might be an option for some of the summer lab kids.</p>
<p>my daughter has a pretty good internship offer that will probably fall through due to the summer lab restricting the time she would be available in the summer. taking the lab the following summer would probably be the best solution because it would give her this summer to get some job experience (which is important). then she will be in a better position come time to look for a job with an internship under her belt.</p>
<p>maybe with the new department head (did you all hear about that?), there will be a change. probably not in time for my student … but maybe sometime.</p>
<p>Word is, change is coming. You might want to ask around in the Chem E. department before she declines the internship. Explain the situation to them and ask them what to do. Son is a sophomore and believes change will come in time for him.</p>
<p>Loring. My DS has of yesterday officially narrowed his choices to 3 schools.He has also decided Engineering is the way to go. At one time he was thinking Biology/Genetics . Anyway at the other 2 schools he would go BME however at UA he would have need to go ChemE since they don’t have BME. Are the changes coming positive? or things unknown with a new leader?</p>
<p>I think she’s referring to a change in the summer class. Hopefully, they’ve figured out a way to put in in Spring semester of junior year. The class has definite benefits, but really needs to be moved from the summer.</p>
<p>i don’t want to say too much (and i really do not know much), but i think the problem is that with the growth of the department/major they have more demand for summer lab than they can accomodate, so they are going to have to find a way to teach the summer lab in a different way during regular semesters.</p>
<p>i don’t think all the details have quite been worked out yet.</p>
<p>i have no doubt that the summer lab is a valuable class, but :
it is a huge extra expense for OOS students (5K or more)
it precludes students from getting a nice internship the summer before graduating. this is huge, because this is a great way for students to get a leg up on a job after graduation.
most every other engineering school manages to educate their students without a requirement like this. they need to find a different way to do it.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info. I was concerned because I thought it might mean major changes in the direction of the department like what happens in the corporate world…
with the ground is always shifting beneath your feet so to speak.</p>
<p>While I have no horse in this race, I do hope that the summer option is kept, though, as I can attest that finding an internship is no easy task, and I think future employers would look more favorably on a rising senior spending a summer doing what sounds like a great learning experience rather than sitting at home unemployed, which is unfortunately what a lot of college students are faced with nowadays.</p>
<p>If they have to keep the summer req’t, then Bama needs to get creative and find a way to get that class funded by corporations/donors so that OOS ChemE kids aren’t paying so much for it. </p>
<p>My son was given an endowed scholarship that paid for his class, but I don’t know how many were awarded. It was a nice surprise awarded just a few weeks before class began. </p>
<p>The class is “brutal” in that it’s not just a 8-5 class M-F. It’s more like 8-10pm. And then on Saturdays, it’s like 8-4pm. On Sundays, the kids often go in to prepare for Monday…which usually involved a project deadline or a test.</p>
<p>I’ve actually have had several conversations with Dr. Judy Bonner about this (when she was Provost). There are several hurdles. </p>
<p>First, all summer classes are self-supporting. They aren’t part of the normal univ budget. </p>
<p>Secondly, the state seems to have some law about OOS rates that can’t be changed. </p>
<p>Lastly, the ChemE dept seems to think this class is the “end all/be all” because it is very “real world” like and really prepares the kids for the profession. </p>
<p>The class has been tweaked a bit for cost reasons. At one point it was 5 credits and maybe even 6 credits…so even more expensive. It’s now 4 credits so cost is reduced a little bit. </p>
<p>I think if Bama really showcased the class to various companies that hire ChemE students, they could convince some to help finance the class to bring the cost down.</p>
<p>The student could look for an internship all junior year. If they don’t find one, then summer lab it is. If they do find one, I think that is probably better on a resume than one summer school class.</p>
<p>^^^Definitely. But if you live in an area devoid of industry, which may be a reason you’re going OOS in the first place, or you don’t have the connections that are sometimes necessary to get those cherished internships, this class is a better option, I believe, than slinging hamburgers or even taking a core course. No offense to hamburger slingers, been there, done that, but just trying to put a smile on this situation.</p>
<p>Like mom said above, it is a great learning class with real world experience, and I would treat it as such on a resume, perhaps putting it in a similar category as job experience.
Also agree with mom that educating potential employers about the value of this summer class would give it more weight for Bama students seeking employment in that industry.</p>
<p>Hoping it all works out for y’all, and hope you all have a great spring semester!</p>