EUGENE, Ore. -- (June 3, 2011) -- Concerned about the budget problems facing local schools, a group of University of Oregon professors are volunteering to teach classes to high school students during the 2011-12 academic year when the school districts have furlough days.
"We recognize that the local schools are under tremendous pressure due to budget cuts," said Tom Lininger, UO law professor and a founder of the UO Classes for High School Students (UOCHSS) program. "We have devised a set of courses that local high school students can attend on furlough days and other days when their schools are not in session."
The six UOCHSS courses will be open to high school and home-schooled students in Lane County. The program is a partnership between the UO's Robert D. Clark Honors College, UO Academic Extension and Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics.
Students must have maintained at least a 3.0 grade point average over the prior two years to qualify for the UOCHSS program. Home?schooled students must demonstrate that their achievement level has been equivalent to at least a 3.0 grade point average.
The application deadline for fall courses is June 24. Applicants should email Lininger at lininger@uoregon.edu with contact information for the student and a parent.
Classes during the 2011-12 school year will include Microeconomics, Environmental Science, Introduction to Political Science, Complex Ecosystems, Advanced Political Theory, and Founding of the United States, and will be taught at the UO campus.
The UOCHSS courses are not Advanced Placement, or AP, courses; however, the syllabi align closely with AP courses so that students who enroll in the UOCHSS Program will be able to take the relevant AP tests to earn college credit.
"We intend to offer rigorous courses of the same sort that undergraduates would take, but we will offer these courses on a smaller scale," said Lininger.
UO Academic Extension has set tuition for these classes at $60 per three-credit or four-credit class. According to Lininger, the low tuition is possible because professors are donating their services and UO Academic Extension is donating administrative support. UO Academic Extension provides credit and noncredit educational opportunities to individuals seeking university?level instruction and enrichment beyond the traditional campus experience.
In addition, the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics has provided a grant that will help to subsidize the purchase of textbooks for students who qualify for free or reduced lunch.
Enrollment in each course will be limited to 20 students. If the number of applicants exceeds the available spaces in a course, the UOCHSS administrator will conduct a lottery to determine enrollment.
About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is among the 108 institutions chosen from 4,633 U.S. universities for top-tier designation of "Very High Research Activity" in the 2010 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The UO also is one of two Pacific Northwest members of the Association of American Universities.
MEDIA CONTACT: Julie Brown, 541-346-3185, julbrown@uoregon.edu
SOURCE: Tom Lininger, UO law professor, 541-346-3662, lininger@uoregon.edu
###