Sarah Carter ‘24

News Editor

Early last week, Holy Cross students received a notification that information and course listings for the January session had been released. The January session, scheduled to begin Monday, January 4 and continue for a period of three weeks, is an option available to students who have accrued a credit deficiency due to course withdrawal and cannot compensate for that deficiency with previously attained AP/IB credit, auxiliary coursework completed elsewhere, or letter-graded fifth courses taken during an earlier semester. A number of courses offered during the January semester will take place entirely online, while others will meet exclusively in-person; however, the total number of courses offered will be very few. For students seeking a broader course catalog to choose from, the six-week summer session may be a more suitable option. 

Courses will follow both synchronous and asynchronous schedules — requiring students to meet via Zoom or attend class in-person at predetermined times, or complete course assignments independently — and will necessitate that students designate an estimated forty hours each week to their selected course. It is also worthwhile to note that because every course available during the January semester meets over a period of only three weeks, each course will be highly comprehensive and heavy in content. For this reason, students should make arrangements to open their personal schedules and limit most of their other commitments during the time which classes run. Courses taken during the January semester come at no additional charge to students and are included in students’ tuition expenses; however, there will be an added $1,350 room and board charge to reside on campus during the January session. 

The courses offered during this academic year’s January semester are: BIOL 303 Biochemistry I Lab, CHEM 199 Science Literacy and Responsible Citizenship, CHEM 224 Organic Chemistry II Techniques Lab, CHEM 389 Introduction to Research, ENGL 244 Community Beat, ENGL 299-01 Revising (Re-seeing) Writing (Topics in Rhetoric), ENGL 299-02 Ancient Drama, Modern Times, MUSC 199 Light Meets Sound, MUSC 299 Jazz, Civil Rights, and Hip-Hop — from Bessie Smith to Kendrick Lamar, PSYC 255 Developmental Psychology, SPAN 399 Spanish Scriptwriting, and VAST 211 Mixed Media. The last day to apply for a listed January session course is Friday, October 30.