Taking summer courses is one way West Virginia University students can realize their goal of finishing school in four years.

WVU offers a variety of courses over the summer, ranging from study abroad opportunities to courses needed to fulfill core curriculum or minor requirements. A growing number of online courses complements the hundreds of classes offered on campus.

Summer Session I is May 23 through June 30; the second session is July 5 through Aug. 11. Not all classes are six weeks long, however. WVU offers dozens of three-credit courses in three weeks, and many travel and adventure courses can be completed in one week.

Priority registration begins today (March 21) for graduate, professional, honors anddisabled students. Other priority registration dates are March 28, seniors; April 4, juniors; April 11, sophomores; and April 18, freshmen.

Students have told us through surveys that their main reason for enrolling in summer courses is to improve their chances of graduating in four years, so we have been working with the colleges and schools to tailor their offerings with that in mind,said Sue Day-Perroots, dean of Extended Learning.

One way students can increase their marketability and still graduate on time is by adding a minor in the summer, Day-Perroots said.

Both the College of Business and Economics and Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism are offering minors that students can complete in two summers.

A business minor offered through B&E consists of nine courses, half of which are offered online. Go to http://www.be.wvu.edu/summer/ to learn more.

The journalism school is offering an advertising minor made up of five courses, most of them offered over the Web. For more information, visit http://journalism.wvu.edu/summer/minor/ or send an e-mail to paul.burger@mail.wvu.edu

The Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences is again offering several courses that get students out of the classroom and back to nature. Students can learn how to identify birds by sight and song, master the basics of backcountry living or become certified in responding to outdoor emergencies. More on the Web:http://www.forestry.caf.wvu.edu/summercourses.html

WVU s Office of International Programs is providing students with several opportunities to see the world. Study abroad courses include kiln building in China, examining religion and society in Hungary, digging the beat of African music and dance in Ghana and more. These programs require an early deposit, so dont delay. A list of faculty-led study abroad courses is online at http://www.wvu.edu/~intlprog/safacultyled.html

For students who dont want to change to go to class, WVU continues to add more online courses, Day-Perroots said. This summers courses include small business entrepreneurship, introduction to computer applications, scientific and technical writing, introduction to library research and pharmacology, to name a few.

Summer courses on the Net: www.wvu.edu/~summer