SCC Science Chair Accommodating Students by Offering Human Anatomy After Dark
Most nights, Steve Bassett is in bed by 10.
Starting Oct. 5, he'll have to make a big adjustment.
Bassett, science chair in the Arts & Sciences Division (Academic Transfer) on Southeast Community College's Lincoln Campus, responded to the large number of students waiting to get into a Fall Quarter class by offering Human Anatomy & Lab late at night. Bassett's lecture will be from 9:30-11:30 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays, and the lab from 9:30 p.m. to 12:20 a.m. Wednesdays.
"Six or seven years ago, I wouldn't have thought anything of it," said Bassett, 53. "Over the years, I've gotten closer to going to bed at 10. I'm going to have to shift gears.
"We've always kidded around here for years that if we offered a class at midnight, it would fill. I guess we put that to the test."
Community colleges across the nation are experiencing healthy increases in enrollment. The demand for Fall Quarter classes at SCC, particularly Human Anatomy & Lab and Human Physiology & Lab, six quarter credit hours each, is sizable. Seven Human Anatomy lectures are scheduled this fall, each with 45 students. There also are six Human Physiology lectures with about 40 students each. The number of labs also increased, including the addition of four on Saturdays.
Bassett's "midnight class," as he calls it, filled in two business days. It opened at 10:35 a.m. Sept. 18 and reached the maximum enrollment of 24 students around 1 p.m. Sept. 22.
"We're a community college, here to serve the community," said Bassett, who has taught 20 years at SCC. "Anatomy is a hot item. Students need it if they want to pursue any medical field, and those areas have a shortage of workers."
Bassett thinks more than half of the students who take Human Anatomy pursue a medical career, while a smaller number take the course because they need a laboratory science credit. SCC's course will transfer to four-year colleges and universities, Bassett said.
The veteran SCC instructor said students who enroll in late-night classes are "highly dedicated."
"I have a feeling these are people who have tried to get in the class and nothing has worked," Bassett said. "I'll be surprised if very many people drop. I'm basing that on what people told me as they registered."
Bassett said some students indicated they work until 7 or 8 at night, too late for most of SCC's evening classes.
"I've had three women tell me they signed up because they have toddlers at home, and they can put them in bed at 8:30 or 9 and then their husbands can stay home," Bassett said. "They don't have to get daycare, so it serves that need."
Bassett said he plans to offer a section of Human Physiology & Lab late at night during SCC's Winter Quarter, which starts Jan. 6.
Bassett's nocturnal students will be using the same curriculum, same textbook and be in class and labs the same amount of time as their daytime counterparts. He hopes he and his students can stay awake.
"In our society, we have a lot of people up until two, three o'clock in the morning and sleep till noon," he said. "They're in their prime at 10 or 11 at night. I guess I'll find out if I am. I'll have a huge pot of coffee for those who drink coffee."
For more information, contact:
Stu Osterthun
Administrative Director of Public Information and Marketing
(402) 323-3401
sosterthun@southeast.edu
Starting Oct. 5, he'll have to make a big adjustment.
Bassett, science chair in the Arts & Sciences Division (Academic Transfer) on Southeast Community College's Lincoln Campus, responded to the large number of students waiting to get into a Fall Quarter class by offering Human Anatomy & Lab late at night. Bassett's lecture will be from 9:30-11:30 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays, and the lab from 9:30 p.m. to 12:20 a.m. Wednesdays.
"Six or seven years ago, I wouldn't have thought anything of it," said Bassett, 53. "Over the years, I've gotten closer to going to bed at 10. I'm going to have to shift gears.
"We've always kidded around here for years that if we offered a class at midnight, it would fill. I guess we put that to the test."
Community colleges across the nation are experiencing healthy increases in enrollment. The demand for Fall Quarter classes at SCC, particularly Human Anatomy & Lab and Human Physiology & Lab, six quarter credit hours each, is sizable. Seven Human Anatomy lectures are scheduled this fall, each with 45 students. There also are six Human Physiology lectures with about 40 students each. The number of labs also increased, including the addition of four on Saturdays.
Bassett's "midnight class," as he calls it, filled in two business days. It opened at 10:35 a.m. Sept. 18 and reached the maximum enrollment of 24 students around 1 p.m. Sept. 22.
"We're a community college, here to serve the community," said Bassett, who has taught 20 years at SCC. "Anatomy is a hot item. Students need it if they want to pursue any medical field, and those areas have a shortage of workers."
Bassett thinks more than half of the students who take Human Anatomy pursue a medical career, while a smaller number take the course because they need a laboratory science credit. SCC's course will transfer to four-year colleges and universities, Bassett said.
The veteran SCC instructor said students who enroll in late-night classes are "highly dedicated."
"I have a feeling these are people who have tried to get in the class and nothing has worked," Bassett said. "I'll be surprised if very many people drop. I'm basing that on what people told me as they registered."
Bassett said some students indicated they work until 7 or 8 at night, too late for most of SCC's evening classes.
"I've had three women tell me they signed up because they have toddlers at home, and they can put them in bed at 8:30 or 9 and then their husbands can stay home," Bassett said. "They don't have to get daycare, so it serves that need."
Bassett said he plans to offer a section of Human Physiology & Lab late at night during SCC's Winter Quarter, which starts Jan. 6.
Bassett's nocturnal students will be using the same curriculum, same textbook and be in class and labs the same amount of time as their daytime counterparts. He hopes he and his students can stay awake.
"In our society, we have a lot of people up until two, three o'clock in the morning and sleep till noon," he said. "They're in their prime at 10 or 11 at night. I guess I'll find out if I am. I'll have a huge pot of coffee for those who drink coffee."
For more information, contact:
Stu Osterthun
Administrative Director of Public Information and Marketing
(402) 323-3401
sosterthun@southeast.edu
