Exploring Options, SLIS Style

Posted May 19, 2015 by Alison Mitchell

When I enrolled at SLIS, I was sure that I would take all my classes on campus, in person.  That was the whole point of going to grad school, right?  I wanted to meet my professors, form relationships with my classmates, ask questions and have face to face conversations.  Then, for family and scheduling reasons, I ended up taking an online class this past semester.  While I still prefer on campus classes and face-to-face interactions, I now appreciate the great flexibility online classes provide, and I’m actually taking another one in the fall. 

I was also pretty sure I’d take all my classes during the traditional fall and spring semesters.  A friend of mine, who also went through Simmons when her kids were in Elementary school, shared horror stories of the shortened, intense summer semester — “that’s when my kids learned to cook their own meals, since all I did was study.”  However — and I think you know where I’m going — I’m about to start a 2-week “short course.”  It meets every day for two weeks from 1-5, with the regular amount of reading, papers and assignments worked in around the class meetings.   I’m not entirely sure how that will all fit into two weeks, but at the end I’ll have 3 more credits and be that much closer to my MLS. 

(Don’t even get me started on the favors I called in to get my kids picked up from school every day for two weeks by someone who is not me — let’s just say I owe my mother-in-law and my friends Karen and Alenka big time.)

All this to say, I’m really glad SLIS has so many options — in person, online, short, West — something for every schedule.  And I’m also glad I’m trying something new and different.  Fingers crossed it’s a good experience — I’ll let you know!