Minimesters, or intermissions, are classes held for a couple of weeks after the fall or spring registration deadline has passed and are for previously crowded classes. Not all classes become minimesters, however, and UNA only offers them after the spring semester and during the first three weeks of August.

“With (the) current schedule there is not enough time (for a minimester),” said John Thornell, UNA vice president of academic affairs.

Thornell said that to have a minimester, the spring semester would have to be pushed back to after Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, which might cause problems for the minimester offered after the spring semester. Also, graduation in the fall semester is in the middle of December, and there is not enough time for a minimester before winter break, Thornell said.

“If students indicate support (for minimesters after fall semester) the academic department will consider it,” Thornell said.

Thornell said if students go to the SGA, they will talk with the academic department to see if minimesters after fall semester can be done.

“Students just need to come forward and say they want to have (minimesters in the fall semester) to see if they can be an option for students,” Thornell said.

Thornell said the good thing about minimesters is that they only last for a couple of weeks and help students stay on track if they are not able to get into a class during a regular semester.

“(Minimesters) make life easier for students that are nontraditional, like people who have families or work full-time,” Thornell said.

Thornell said a negative about minimesters is the intensity of the classes. Since they do not last as long as a regular semester, students have to be dedicated and stay on top of their work on a daily basis.

Minimesters would be useful for people with families or other obligations that leave them with little time for school, said Abigail Schrimcher, a freshman and a radio television major.

Schrimcher said she probably would not take a minimester class even it would help her graduate on time.

“(It would just be) so much information at one time,” Schrimcher said.

Some students said they would enroll in minimesters if it would speed up their college careers.

“(I would) probably take minimesters to graduate on time,” said Alex Panks, a freshman nursing major.

Panks said she played volleyball, so she would have to take extra classes if they helped her graduate on time. She said she can stay on top of her work even if the classes are intense.

“I might slack if I take classes in the summer, so it would be better for me (to take minimesters),” Panks said.