Senior Maggie Rush is one of more than 400 UMW students taking advantage of the January-term, or “J-term.” Mary Washington is offering 29 different online courses during the three-week session this month.
College students often spend the final weeks of winter break watching movies, playing video games and writing résumés for jobs and internships.
Now, a University of Mary Washington offering called the January-term, or “J-term,” allows them to earn college credits for these and other types of activities.
Before UMW’s spring semester begins – remotely on Jan. 25, with on-campus instruction scheduled to start Feb. 1 – the condensed but intense three-week curriculum gives students the chance to engage with instructors and peers, stockpile academic credits and complete requirements and electives. More than 400 students have enrolled in 29 courses, ranging from Personal Finance and Writing for the Workplace to Games and Culture and The Three Big Q’s: Love, Death and Justice.
The idea for the J-term came last fall when UMW’s administration decided to revise the academic calendar to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19. That freed up the first three weeks of January for “some sort of new, creative academic opportunity,” said College of Arts and Sciences Dean Keith Mellinger. Mary Washington has occasionally offered a winter term in the past, but if made permanent, students could study abroad or pursue other experiential learning opportunities in January. They’re already taking note.
Because of the J-term, “my spring semester is now lighter,” said senior Maggie Rush. “I can concentrate on finding an internship or job.” Read more.
