History of Pandemics and Other Summer Session Classes Draw Record Enrollment 

A Rutgers continuing studies summer session course on the history of pandemics saw its enrollment double this summer, a trend echoed across the entire program.

“The students have a personal stake in the subject – which doesn’t necessarily happen all that often in history courses,” says Tara Malanga, a history department adjunct professor in the School of Arts and Sciences. “They’re able to relate to the material in a way that wasn’t possible two years ago, and they’re very interested in seeing how generation after generation has dealt with this.”

The course, “Disease in History,” a survey of pandemics from the Black Death to modern times now includes discussion about COVID-19 and how the pandemic has altered life in the United States and around the world.

“When I first taught it, people were still wondering when and if there would even be another big pandemic. Well – now we know,” Malanga says.

Rutgers Summer Session reports an almost 18,000 headcount enrollment – a 20 percent increase over last year, and 10 to 15 percent higher than summer enrollments reported by other universities.

“Rutgers Division of Continuing Studies is both proud and grateful to offer students a summer of enrichment and advancement,” says Richard Novak, vice president for continuing studies and the Division of Continuing Studies, which manages Rutgers Summer Session. “Our team has developed a winning formula based on data analytics, strategic marketing and high-quality customer service.”

The greatest change in registrations has come from the School of Management and Labor Relations students with a 137 percent increase in enrollment, following by the School of Nursing, which experienced a 103 percent surge in enrollment.

Some of the courses, like "Introduction to Supply Chain Management", "Quantitative Methods in Psychology" and "Bioethics," which had only been offered in-person before Rutgers went to remote learning, saw enormous increases.

“Students are clearly eager to continue their education despite global health challenges, and we applaud their dedication,” says Novak.

Understanding that he needed to take online summer courses if he were to stay on track to graduating, Rutgers Business School student Elijah Genesis Abad, who enrolled in "Environmental Science" and "Intro to Supply Chain Management", says he was able to work and take classes from home.

“We knew something was going to happen, but when it actually happened, I was kind of in shock,” Abad says. “My friends and I had so many plans for the semester, clubs and everything else. And the day we found out, people started heading home immediately. By the evening, it was kind of like The Twilight Zone.”

Celena Storck-Martinez, who will begin working toward her masters degree at the School of Social Work this fall, said at first she was concerned about taking "Quantitative Methods in Psychology" online. 

“At first, I was worried I was going to have trouble keeping up, and holding myself to the deadlines,” says Martinez. “But the professor was really supportive. She provided a calendar with a suggested pace that was very helpful, and she also used a platform where people could ask questions, even as they were doing their homework assignments. That was a big help, too.”

Students say going from in-class to online learning has been much more positive than they expected. “Before, I had a calculus class where it was really hard to get across campus for those early-morning office hours,” says Abad. “Now, if I need that kind of one-on-one help I can just roll out of bed and sign on. I’m interacting with my professors very easily and the other students, too; since we’re all online, it just increases the need for us to keep in touch.”