ANN ARBOR—Students planning to take summer courses and those who need a required course just caught a break. The University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts is expanding spring and summer course offerings and scheduling them at convenient times.

Twenty five courses that have not been available in more than four years will be offered in the spring term and 37 in the summer term.

Three options for filling the first-year writing requirement—English 125, Comparative Literature 122 and History 195—will be available in both terms. In the summer term, biology, chemistry, communication studies, and screen arts & cultures courses will be offered, including a new course, Screenwriting for Non-majors.

In response to the growing demand, more than 20 departments and programs will expand their offerings. Half of the courses will be offered in the late morning and early afternoon.

LSA enrollment figures mirror national trends showing more students taking spring and summer classes, according to JoAnn Peraino, LSA curriculum and enrollment manager. Since 2007 there has been a nine percent increase in students signing up for a full load of classes in the spring and summer terms.

Students are enrolling for many reasons.

Growth in LSA’s fall and winter term undergraduate enrollments have lengthened waitlists for popular introductory courses, which could delay students in the selection and completion of concentrations, according to Terrence J. McDonald, dean of LSA.

More students are also electing double majors, minors, internships and study abroad programs, making it harder to complete their degrees in four years. Students see studying in the summer as a way to have more small class experiences, boost their grade point average and lighten their load in the full terms.

“By expanding its course offerings in term three the college will reduce enrollment pressure in the fall and winter terms and help meet student demand for access to courses critical to their concentration,” McDonald said. “The new term three chedules will offer high-demand courses as well as courses that are popularly used to fulfill college requirements on a regular basis. Regular scheduling of selected courses will eliminate uncertainty about course availability in term three that has made it difficult for students to plan their course schedules.”

Undergraduate registration begins in March and remains open until the start of the term. For more information and a complete list of courses visit: