The recent announcement that the College of Arts and Sciences is looking to improve summer life on River Campus acknowledges the current disparity between student life during the summer and the academic terms. The population during summer months is small only several hundred and could be greatly expanded with new incentives for students.
Adding job opportunities should be at the forefront of the College’s plan when it remodels its summer program. Students take summer courses for a myriad of reasons, whether retaking classes, working ahead in degree requirements or taking courses to complete their clusters. Having jobs on campus during the summer allows students, who may not have full transportation access, to balance the commitments of classwork and jobs.
A reason that students do not choose to stay at UR may be their inability to find jobs on campus. While students may hope to take courses over the summer, they still have to decide between making money at jobs found at home and paying to take classes at school.
One solution would be to enact a program that provides working students with subsidies for their summer education. By setting up a program in which students could work part time to cut tuition costs be it research work or other types of employment the College would be offering both jobs and academic opportunities, making it more feasible for students to stay.
