Southern Maine Community College is offering for the first time a new Deferred Start Semester that enables students to start their studies a month later and finish on time, in a bid to better support parents, workers and other non-traditional students.
The Deferred Start program allows eligible students to take classes beginning Sept. 28, four weeks later than this year’s start date of Aug. 31. SMCC launched the program to help individuals who have work, family or travel obligations that make it difficult to start on the traditional semester start date.
“Our students are as diverse as the community we serve and so are their scheduling needs,” said SMCC President Ron Cantor. “Our goal has always been to offer an affordable and flexible start to college whether people want to study at either of our campuses, online, or at our satellite locations. Adding the Deferred Start Semester offers one more option for parents and workers who are juggling many schedules.”
Deferred Start Semester students have five classes to choose from: Freshman Interest Group, English Composition, Intro to Psychology, College Algebra and Philosophy. The program allows people to start smart in their college careers by earning credits for core classes on a schedule that is convenient for them. All Deferred Start classes are offered at SMCC’s South Portland Campus.
Anyone interested in participating in the Deferred Start program must apply and be accepted to SMCC and be ready for college-level learning, based on placement tests and transfer credits. Students should expect increased coursework because the classes are accelerated, covering the same material in 12 weeks rather than the traditional 16 weeks.