8-Week Advantage

Meet Gabriel, a full-time student pursuing an Associate in Arts. Gabriel’s goal is to knock out his basics for a bachelor’s degree in psychology. It’s his first semester of college and he wants to build his class load gradually. He’ll take two classes during the first eight-week session and three classes during the second eight-week session. All his classes are Mondays and Wednesdays, leaving him plenty of time for homework, his part-time job and volunteering.­­

Meet Laura, a part-time student pursuing an Associate in Science. Laura works full time for a national drug store chain, where she’s been promoted to team leader. She plans to take her career to the next level by completing the first two years of a bachelor’s degree at ECTC and then transferring to a university to continue pursuing her dream of becoming a pharmacist. She’s taking seven credit hours. With 8-Week Advantage, she can focus on fewer classes at a time, helping her to balance her growing work responsibilities.

Meet Tyler, a full-time student pursuing an Associate in Applied Science in Industrial Maintenance Technology. Tyler works full time on second shift for a large manufacturer. He is determined to complete his degree and advance his career within two years. He’s taking 16 credit hours, a heavy lift for someone with a full-time job. 8-Week Advantage allows Tyler to narrow his focus, graduate on time and land one of the most in-demand jobs in the manufacturing industry.

Meet Ashley, a part-time student pursuing an Associate in Applied Science in Industrial Maintenance Technology. Ashley’s days are busy. She has two young children and puts in a lot of hours at her family’s growing agriculture business. Balancing two classes for 16 weeks was a struggle, so she was taking one evening class per semester to attain new skills and help the family business grow. With 8-Week Advantage, she can do more. Ashley is taking one class per eight-week session. She still can focus on one class at a time, but earn her degree sooner.

Meet Morgan, a full-time student pursuing an Associate in Applied Science in Business Administration Systems. Morgan works about 25 to 30 hours a week as a customer service representative in the finance industry, and she’ll soon have opportunities to build a career in management. It was tough to balance five classes and she was exhausted by the end of the semester. With 8-Week Advantage, she is focusing on just two or three classes at a time and is more engaged.

Meet Jack, a part-time student pursuing an Associate in Applied Science in Business Administration Systems. Jack has been taking three classes per semester in addition to working full time in human resources. He’s ready to advance his career and he’s proud to set a positive example for his teenage children. With 8-Week Advantage, Jack can take one class during the first eight-week session and two classes during the second eight-week session. It’s a more manageable workload, especially since it aligns with the seasonal increases in Jack’s work hours.

8-Week Advantage reorganizes your schedule so that you can focus on fewer classes at a time and be more successful.

8-Week Advantage has five sessions per year. Fall semester has two eight-week sessions, spring semester has two eight-week sessions, and summer has one eight-week session. You’ll get a week-long fall and spring break.

Students who intend to take classes during both eight-week sessions should enroll in both sessions at once, especially for financial aid purposes. Contact your academic advisor and financial aid before making changes to your schedule.

Financial aid still will be awarded based on the number of credit hours per semester. Students who qualify for federal aid including the Pell Grant should enroll in both eight-week sessions during the fall and spring semesters to correctly indicate if they are part-time or full-time students. Funds for the entire semester (two eight-week sessions) will be disbursed three to four weeks into the first eight-week term.

Status still is determined by the number of credit hours you take over the course of the semester. Take six credit hours (typically two classes) per eight-week session for full-time status.

The maximum number of credit hours you can take per eight-week session is 10.

You’ll get the same amount of time with your instructors. For example, if you spent about three hours per week for 16 weeks with an instructor in a traditional semester class, you can expect to spend about six hours per week for eight weeks with 8-Week Advantage. Depending on the class, this could be a mix of in-person and online instruction, but the total amount of time will not change.

No. All eight-week classes will offer the same high-quality education and training as 16-week classes.

New students can enroll in any of the five sessions throughout the year. Depending on the program, all of your required classes might not be offered every term. Students taking classes during only one eight-week session of a semester should check in with the financial aid office to be sure they understand how this may affect their aid.

Homework will depend on the class, but because you will focus on fewer classes at a time, the average time spent on homework each semester will not change.

About 95 percent of ECTC classes will only be offered in eight-week sessions. Exceptions include classes with clinical or practicum requirements that cannot be completed in eight weeks.

No, tuition is based on the number of credit hours per semester.

ECTC Veterans Affairs practices will remain the same, and full-time status will be determined based on the number of credit hours per session. Email ECTCVA@kctcs.edu for more information.

A student who has not paid tuition or signed up for a payment plan will be assigned a financial hold. The hold will be placed a few weeks into the first eight-week session and will result in the student being dropped from the second eight-week session classes.

SAP status continues to be updated at the end of the semester. Therefore, grades from the first eight-week session will not be reflected immediately.

Each eight-week session will have its own deadlines to enter a class or drop a class. For a complete list of deadlines, please see the academic calendar. It is very important that students understand how dropping a class can affect their financial aid and tuition due. Check in with the financial aid and business offices before changing your schedule.

Taking an eight-week bi-term class alongside three or four 16-week classes is challenging! The difference with 8-Week Advantage is all your classes last eight weeks, so you’ll be focusing on fewer classes at a time.

KEES is based on the number of credit hours you take and will not be affected by 8-Week Advantage. Whether you register for a total of three credit hours or 15 credit hours over the course of two eight-week session, your KEES funding is not affected by 8-Week Advantage.

The Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship is not affected by 8-Week Advantage.

Dual credit students may enroll in eight-week classes. Offerings vary by high school and you should always start by consulting your high school guidance office. For more information, contact our dual credit office.

Dual credit scholarships are not affected by 8-Week Advantage. High school students should enroll in both eight-week sessions at the same time when they register for the fall and/or spring semesters for scholarship and billing purposes.