The school year at UNC School of the Arts started last month. Determining what might happen on campus next summer seems far off, but David Nelson is making it a priority .
Nelson, UNCSA's provost, said the school's recent move from a trimester to a semester system does more than just align UNCSA with most other universities across the country.
"It opens a window for a summer-school program we've never had before," he said in his office at the school's administration building.
The details of the summer program are being worked out by Nelson and his deans, who have a January deadline.
Nelson was able to provide general ideas about the summer program. It will begin after the regular school year ends in early May. It will consist of two, five-week sessions. It will augment the current workshop offerings for high school students with for-credit courses for college students and with continuing-education offerings for professional artists and for public-school arts teachers in search of cutting-edge tutelage.
The courses for college students will be offered on campus and/or online. The courses should appeal to UNCSA students because a typical day is filled with classes, training in an arts discipline and rehearsals, making it difficult to fit in studying. The summer program could lighten the load.
"Quite honestly, even unloading one or two courses a year makes a big difference," Nelson said.
Nelson also envisions summer programs helping to fulfill certain goals.
For example, students at community colleges wishing to enter the School of Filmmaking could do so in their junior year by completing introductory film courses in what Nelson called summer boot camps.
Or a retired ballet dancer could do work toward a bachelor's in ballet, increasing his opportunities for teaching dance at the college level. Many ballet dancers begin dancing professionally after they finish high school.
"They'd already have a portfolio of professional accomplishments," Nelson said. "We would be giving them the degree that they need. It would open up the door for a number of them to teach at a place they never could before."
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