Online Degrees, Certificates, and Courses

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A Conversation about Canvas | 9.1.2021
Ryan Lufkin, of Instructure, talks about the LMS’s growth on college campuses, features students love, and more!
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is in good company when it comes to adopting the Canvas learning management system (LMS).
The state-of-the-art LMS is in 4,000-plus universities, school districts, and institutions worldwide, including 11 of 14 Big 10 schools and all Ivy League schools.
“We’re now the No. 1 LMS in higher education across North America, as well as K-12 in North America,” said Ryan Lufkin, senior director of Global Higher Education Product Marketing at Instructure, the company that created and publishes Canvas.
Illinois piloted Canvas in the 2019-2020 academic year. It’s ready to officially roll it out for many Fall 2021 courses. (NOTE: Courses will also be in Compass 2g and Moodle until the Canvas migration wraps up in June 2022.)
Ahead of the fall semester, Lufkin talked to the Center for Innovation in Teaching & Learning, which is overseeing the migration along with Technology Services, about Canvas’ growth on college campuses, the features students love, and more.
Can you shed some light on Canvas’ start and reasons for its rapid growth?
When Canvas launched in 2010, Blackboard was the market leader, although users weren’t all that satisfied with Blackboard’s level of support, Lufkin said. Canvas launched the first SaaS (Software as a service) cloud-based software delivery model, in which the cloud provider develops and maintains application software, provides automatic updates, and provides software to customers via the internet on a pay-as-you-go, manages hardware, software, security, making it cheaper to customers.
“That makes it much easier to support and evolve the software because you’re not having to fix bugs for highly-customized versions of the software. You’re supporting one version,” Lufkin explained.
Despite that, higher education was somewhat reluctant to adopt SaaS due to security concerns.
“Right about that time, … Hurricane Katrina hit Tulane and wiped out all of their servers and backup tapes. What we’ve seen since then is … schools will have a fire, and all of their systems will go down except for Canvas because Canvas is SaaS,” Lufkin recalled, adding acceptance soon followed.
Lufkin said Canvas has “right around” 50 percent of the market share in North America.
“We continue to grow rapidly,” he said, adding 2020 and 2021 have seen the largest growth yet. He said the company did its second stock launch recently, “which gives our investors more cash to go out and integrate solutions. We bought four different companies in the last two years to expand the functionality we offer, and we’ll keep doing that.”
Also, users say the platform’s ease of use and seamlessness sets it apart from other LMS platforms.
“From the start, our company’s two founders went around and asked colleges and universities what they wanted as teachers and as students,” Lufkin said. “That made a big difference in teacher and student interaction.”
One way the company measures how its design and functionality is by the number of tech support requests it receives.
“Canvas has been able to reduce the number of support tickets, Lufkin said, adding a recent audit showed one institution’s tickets gone down by 50 percent. “We take that very seriously because it’s costly for the institution and it’s disruptive to students. We want to make it seamless so that we can disappear in the background and really have the learning be front and center.”
How easy or difficult do students find learning Canvas?
Lufkin said the time it takes students to feel comfortable in Canvas depends on their background in using technology
“Most students feel comfortable pretty quickly, especially if they used it in K-12, which many of them have at this point,” he said, adding that when students log in for the first time, a series of prompts will walk them through different sections of the product and show them how to use it. “The interface is designed to be very intuitive. Within the first couple of weeks, they should understand where to find things even if their instructors have created their courses differently.”
Lufkin said the Canvas Student Guide provides students with step-by-step instructions for all of their how-to questions.
He also said the online Canvas community has about 1 million active users, mostly educators, who share strategies, tips, and all kinds of how-to videos.
“If a student or educator is struggling, they can simply Google, ‘How do I do this in Canvas,’ and 90 percent of the time, there’s a video showing them how to do it,” he said, adding it’s all Google-search optimized. “I’ve been working in education tech for 20 years, and I’ve never seen anything like this community aspect. They’re really supportive of each other.”
What features do students love?
- The Mobile App, which has Android and iOS guides.
“That’s really one of our best pieces,” Lufkin said, adding 98 percent of undergraduates own a smartphone. “They don’t necessarily want to get emails or text messages. You can get notifications directly within the app. It’s a great way for communicating that way.”
- The To Do list
“When we set up our integrations, even third-party apps are plugged into Canvas itself and should populate the to-do list,” he said. “Being able to walk through a cohesive to-do list that shows what’s coming next with your course is a big deal.”
- The Discussions tool
“We just revamped that … making it easier to @ mention people, organize conversation threads, and things like that,” Lufkin said.
- The SpeedGrader tool
“It’s a teacher-centric tool, but it makes it directly impacts students,” he said. “They don’t have to wait until they’re in back in class to get feedback. They can get it through their app.”
Lufkin also encourages students to check out Portfolium ePortfolios, which allow them to keep assignments and projects in an online portfolio.
“It lives beyond their time at the institution,” he said. “When they graduate, they’ll still have that ePortfolio that they can show to potential employers.
What type of feedback have students given?
“The biggest piece of feedback we get from students in surveys is, ‘Make my teacher use it more … and better,’” Lufkin said with a laugh.
He added that one of the silver linings to the pandemic is teaching remotely caused educators to do more in Canvas. As they became more comfortable, they started using it more fully.
“Suddenly, they’re integrating third-party apps,” Lufkin said.
“I think we’re going to continue to see more of a hybrid approach going forward,” he continued. “There are a lot of exciting things happening in education, and we’re happy to be a part of it.”
Need help with Canvas? Visit Illinois Online's Canvas webpage.
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Illinois launches first-of-its-kind AI in Medicine Certificate Program for healthcare professionals | 6.28.2021
The Department of Bioengineering is excited to announce the launch of a new online AI in Medicine Certificate Program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
The vast and rapidly-growing field of artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to make a significant impact throughout healthcare systems. Currently, AI is being used to improve disease diagnostics, reduce medical error to ensure patient care safety, provide predictive risk assessment and health monitoring, and much more.
This first-of-its-kind, self-paced continuing education program will prepare physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, veterinarians, medical students, and other healthcare professionals to lead in the area of digital medicine by providing them with a conceptual understanding of AI and its application through real-world medical case studies using machine learning models.
The certificate program will also better equip healthcare professionals to partner with computer science professionals, interact with vendors, advance healthcare delivery, improve patient care—and ultimately, shape the future of medicine.
“Great course!” one of the first program completers wrote in an end-of-course survey. “I didn’t have a lot of prior knowledge about machine learning in medicine. This course had a good general overview about all the necessary components when considering AI implementation.”
The 6-week-long program is divided into six modules:
- Data and decisions
- Concepts of machine learning
- Deep learning
- Extended deep learning
- Deploying AI in practice
- Real-world applications of AI in medicine.
Each module includes built-in exercises to put what you've learned into practice. And, the self-paced, fully online format gives you the flexibility to learn from anywhere in the world during your own time.
The program costs $750; however, additional pricing options are available for registrants from the University of Illinois system, Carle health system, OSF HealthCare, and Mayo Clinic. Please contact aiinmedicine@illinois.edu for pricing details.
Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits are available upon the completion of the course—6.25 credits for healthcare professionals, and 6 credits for veterinary professionals.
What sets the AI certificate program at Illinois apart?
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a leader in the field of artificial intelligence research and renowned for its teaching excellence. The AI in Medicine certificate program was designed through an interdisciplinary partnership between the Department of Bioengineering at The Grainger College of Engineering, the Carle Illinois College of Medicine, and the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine to deliver exceptional course quality and empower medical professionals.
Together, we created our course specifically for physicians, clinicians, medical students, and other healthcare professionals. We cover practical topics of modern workflows and patient interactions, as well as legal, ethical, and logistical concerns specific to the use of clinical AI that are typically not covered in general AI courses.
We immerse students in only medical examples and applications that illustrate the key concepts of how machines learn and how AI-based medical technologies can be used to improve health outcomes and streamline clinical workflows. You will not need to memorize technical terms or use coding for this course.
By the end of the course, you will be able to read literature related to AI in medicine; understand how data-driven decisions are made and assessed; identify and define different types of artificial intelligence tools and techniques used in medicine; and actively participate in the selection, purchase, and deployment of AI-based medical software.
As part of this certificate program, you will have access to ask questions and engage with artificial intelligence experts from the University of Illinois through Virtual Office Hours. This is an exclusive opportunity to connect with an expert about the course material and get hands-on support with exercises ranging from machine learning, deep learning, and other concepts.
Furthermore, as a part of this certificate program, you will have access to ask questions and engage with artificial intelligence experts from the university. This is an exclusive opportunity to connect with an expert about the course material and get hands-on support with exercises ranging from machine learning, deep learning, and other concepts.
"The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a global hub where technological innovations meet medical advancements," said Mark A. Anastasio, Donald Biggar Willett Professor in Engineering, Head of the Department of Bioengineering, and one of the AI in Medicine certificate program instructors.
"Through leveraging expertise from the department of bioengineering, the Carle Illinois College of Medicine and the College of Veterinary Medicine, we have created this program to meet an urgent need for AI training in the healthcare community," Anastasio continued. "Our goal is to prepare students in this program to lead the future of medicine. "
Request more information or enroll today in the AI in Medicine certificate program today!
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2021 Summer Session is just around the corner! | 3.25.2021

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is once again offering online courses during Summer Session 2021.
The summer term begins on May 17, 2021, and runs through Aug. 5, 2021, with 4-, 8-, and 12-week courses available. View the Summer 2021 Academic Calendar.
Summer Session allows undergraduate and non-degree students to take a course in an online format from anywhere in the world. It’s also open to students who are enrolled at other educational institutions.
This year, there are 700-plus courses to choose from, and all are taught by our world-class Illinois faculty. The courses are rigorous yet manageable in the condensed time period.
It’s a great time to take a high-demand course that’s hard to get into in the fall or spring. It’s also a great time to catch up on credits, increase your overall GPA, take an interesting class that’s not in your field of study, or work toward a minor.
Priority registration begins in conjunction with Fall 2021 registration on April 19, and open registration for all students begins on May 6.
Students can check out our Summer Session video for a glimpse of some of the exciting courses they can take. View the Summer Session 2021 Course List and check back often for updates.
For more information about this opportunity, visit the Illinois Online 2021 Summer Session page.

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Illinois’ online graduate programs continue to climb in midst of pandemic | 3.17.2021

Despite a turbulent year caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, enrollment at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign remains steady thanks to continued robust on-campus enrollment and the growing demand for online graduate programs.
Over the last few years, the university has seen record overall enrollments, including 49,339 in Fall 2018; 51,196 in Fall 2019; and 52, 331 in Fall 2020.
Dan Mann, Associate Provost for Enrollment Management, said that enrollment in graduate programs has been growing steadily.
According to a Division of Management Information report, the Spring 2021 graduate enrollment was 17,987 – a 1.04 percent increase from Fall 2020 and – using a better comparison – a 13.03 percent jump from Spring 2020.
“I think most of that growth has been online,” Mann said. Graduate College officials confirmed that.
Currently, the U of I offers a combined 291 master’s and doctoral degree programs. Of those, 34 from most academic colleges on campus are online. That doesn’t count a large number of professional certificate programs.
“When I look to see where the growth is really coming from, typically, it is in online programs,” said Beth Spark, Assistant Dean of Admissions, Registration, and Enrollment Services at the Graduate College.
Spark added that the online surge has been driven largely by a handful of scalable programs – the iMBA (Master of Business Administration, from the Gies College of Business) and MCS (Master of Computer Science, from the Department of Computer Science in the Grainger College of Engineering) being the top two – offered on the Coursera online learning platform.
“We started seeing these huge spikes in enrollment when the iMBA started,” Spark said. “In general, I don’t see our Coursera programs slowing down.”
History of online programming
Illinois’ robust online programming can be traced back to the 1960s, said John Hart, Professor and Director of Online Programs in the Department of Computer Science and Executive Associate Dean at the Graduate College.
That’s when researchers created PLATO (Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operations), recognized as the world’s first computerized learning system. The plasma display, touchscreen, display graphics, online testing, instant messaging, among other things, were originally developed for or on PLATO.
In 1996, the School of Information Sciences offered the first fully online program -- the LEEP program, offering an online Master of Library and Information Sciences, which continually has been the top-ranked program of its kind in the nation.
Around 2012, Illinois entered into a partnership with Coursera to offer massive open online courses (MOOCs).
“We were the first land-grant university to offer Coursera MOOCs to the general public,” Hart said, adding people can take MOOCs without enrolling in the university.
However, he pointed out that they’re different from the “for-credit” courses offered to admitted and enrolled students who are required to complete projects, take exams, and fulfill other course requirements that will go toward course credits and eventually a degree.
“That’s kind of the secret sauce … in order for us to confer a degree,” Hart said, adding that all online students must meet the same admissions and program standards as their on-campus counterparts. “The only difference (between online and on campus) is that we have greater capacity in some of the online programs than we do on campus.”
In Spring 2016, Illinois launched the iMBA on the Coursera platform.
“It was the first online degree program offered by Coursera,” Hart said. “The reason we did that was MOOCs proved that we could deliver quality education at scale. That allowed us as a land-grant university to deliver degree opportunities in areas of high demand that we couldn’t accommodate using other means.”
Since then, Spark said three more programs have been launched on Coursera – the MCS, the iMSA (Master of Science in Accountancy), and the iMSM (Master of Science in Management). Learn more about Illinois Coursera programs and courses here.
Enrollment spike
Up through Fall 2016, Spark said enrollment in graduate programs, both on campus and online, accounted for only about 23 percent of the total enrollment.
But with the addition of the Coursera programs, enrollment rose to 27 percent in 2017, 29 percent in 2018, 31 percent in 2019, and 34 percent in 2020 with the online iMBA and MCS programs largely driving the uptick.
The iMBA enrollment nearly doubled from Fall 2018 (1,810) to Fall 2019 (2,706) and rose another 43.94 percent in Fall 2020 (3,895).
The MCS enrollment increased 50.32 percent from Fall 2018 (628) to Fall 2019 (944) and 26.91 percent in Fall 2020 (1,198).
Spark and Hart said the other online graduate programs across campus are also growing steadily, although their enrollments are much lower.
While Spark is pleased that the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 enrollments continue to increase, she cautioned that they must be examined through a COVID-19 lens.
“Enrollments are hard to predict this year based on Fall 2020,” she said, pointing out that many new international students who were enrolled for fall weren’t able to come due to travel restrictions. “Some did choose to enroll online, but a good number of those students – about 1,800 -- deferred and were admitted for Spring 2021 or Fall 2021”
“For Fall 2020 enrollment, we looked like we had an increase, and we did,” Spark continued. “But this increase is primarily due to our online enrollments. If we had had our typical yield for the fall, it would have been a significantly larger increase.”
Enrollment and COVID-19
Going back to the DMI report, Hart said the growth of online graduate programs – both on Coursera and standard Learning Management Systems (LMS) – filled the enrollment gap caused by COVID-19.
*This image is based on a chart created by John Hart, a Professor and Director of Online Programs in the Department of Computer Science and Executive Associate Dean of the Graduate College. The blue represents on-campus programs, including external classroom programs; the gray represents standard online programs; and the orange represents scalable online programs.
He created a chart, which showed that on-campus programs, including external classroom programs, remained steady but dipped about 6 percent – a loss of 608 students – due to the pandemic. Standard online programs added 480 students in Fall 2020, while scalable online programs continue to gain an average of 1,500 a year.
“We’ve doubled our online enrollment, and that was partially boosted by COVID,” Hart said, adding more minority students have enrolled, as well.
Hart acknowledged that some students who took on-campus classes have struggled to adapt to online or hybrid learning. But others have flourished in the online environment.
“What we discovered with our online classes is we’re reaching students in the state, the nation, and the world that we hadn’t been able to reach before with our standard online … and campus offerings, he said.
He said COVID-19 changed people’s everyday lives regarding home and family, employment, and other responsibilities. And more people discovered that online programs – including newer offerings with asynchronous courses -- offer them the flexibility they need to meet those responsibilities and continue their education from wherever they are.
“We’re also able to reach the price point,” Hart said. “Tuition is significantly lower for those online scalable degrees. That allows us to reach students who couldn’t afford the full-time tuition, and that’s expanded our reach to students in lower socio-economic situations. All of those factors have contributed to increasing the diversity of the graduate students at Illinois.”
In Spring 2021, under-represented minority student enrollments increased by 25 percent, Spark said.
“When you dive into that, some of these online programs account for most of that increase,” she said. “Specifically, the four Coursera programs account for just shy of 58 percent of that increase. And overall, they account for about 33 percent of our under-represented domestic students. These programs have definitely led in increasing these enrollments.”
Going forward
The university is now in the admissions season for Fall 2021.
Spark and Mann said it’s difficult to predict what will happen with enrollment.
“We constantly do a lot of data analytics,” said Mann, who was pleasantly surprised by a .94 percent undergraduate enrollment increase from Spring 2020 to this spring and counts it as “a victory.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have a model of what to expect in a pandemic … or a period to compare it to," he continued. "We will continue to run our models, but it’s still a bit of a guessing game.”
Spark agreed.
“It’s difficult to determine because some numbers are inflated, some numbers are down,” she said. “It’s going to be an odd year to compare to for a while.”
Regardless, Hart said officials will remain focused on the university’s land-grant mission going forward.
“And we want to make sure that as we’re meeting the needs of the community for this education that we ensure the quality of those degrees … and that all of the requirements for the degree have been met by these methods for offering the degree,” he said.
For an in-depth look at student enrollment data, go to: https://go.illinois.edu/StudentEnrollment
To learn more about Illinois’ online graduate programs go to the Illinois Online Website.

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Events

Date	Event
11.1.2021	Priority registration for Spring 2022 begins (?)
11.20.2021	Fall Break (?)
11.22.2021	Spring 2022 open registration begins for all students (?)
12.8.2021	Last day of instruction (?)
12.10.2021	Final examination period (?)

Online Illinois Calendar

Blogs

Want the latest on livestock trends and topics? Tune in to VetMed's Round Barn podcast! | 9.16.2021

Experts say the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 originated in animals and spread to humans, but how exactly does that happen?
When zoo staff noticed one of its Malayan tigers developed a bad cough, how did they determine whether it was a common respiratory tract infection or something worse?
Hippos typically consume 90 pounds of food a day, so what did a veterinarian at Brookfield Zoo do when a hippo named Obesa stopped eating?
For the answers to these questions and more, check out the University of Illinois’ College of Veterinary Medicine’s (VetMed) podcast.
The Round Barn podcast is a lively series where VetMed faculty members “tackle issues that are relevant to today's challenges, from livestock production to diagnostics and clinical cases.”
It’s hosted by VetMed faculty Drs. Brian Aldridge, a clinical professor in the Rural Animal Health Management; Jim Lowe, an associate professor, head of the Integrated Food Animal Management System Section, director of its i-Learning Center for online veterinary education, and a 1994 alumnus; and Ashley Mitek, a veterinarian anesthesiologist, teaching assistant professor, and a 2011 alumna. They sometimes welcome guest clinicians who share their expertise and experience on the show’s topic.
Before we get to the tigers, hippos, and other creatures great and small, we have to ask: Does the world need another podcast? The hosts tackle that in the first episode, released on Feb. 27, 2020.
Lowe explains that initiative stems from “interesting conversations” the two have had over the years.
“We’ll try to address current topics and things that are relevant to livestock production, really everything from veterinary things to production things,” said Lowe, whose background is in swine operations and production and will bring both a consultant and academic’s viewpoints to the table.
The podcast is also a way to expand on the Online VetMed program, which the hosts have helped build.
“Hopefully, this is part of a much bigger thing that we’re pulling out there in terms of, how do we take really relevant knowledge and transfer that to the people that use it?” Lowe said, adding he believes the episodes can be helpful to anyone in the livestock industry from livestock producers to veterinarians. “We hope all of that fits and there’s a piece for everybody.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down most on-campus activity, the podcast pivoted to related topics such as “Zoonotic Disease and the Coronavirus,” “Coronavirus: Is It Safe to Leave the House?” “Does Online Learning Work,” and “Is Food in Short Supply?”
The podcast later introduced “The Veterinary Detective” mini-series, in which Mitek discusses a real case with a veterinary clinician who walks listeners “through the diagnostic process to help us understand how they apply clinical reasoning to their practice.”
In “The Case of the Coughing Tiger,” Dr. Karen Terio—a veterinary pathologist and chief of the Zoo Pathology Program in Chicago, which is part of the College of VetMed’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory—has shared about her experience helping to diagnose and treat Nadia, a Malayan tiger at the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo, who had been coughing for a couple of days and not eating. Could it be COVID-19?
In “The Case of the Waterlogged Dog,” Dr. Jenica Haraschak, a board-certified emergency medicine and critical care specialist at the U of I’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital, discusses treating a hypothermic dog that a good Samaritan rescued from a local lake after someone intentionally tried to drown her. Did she survive?
In another episode, Lowe and Dr. Dan Thomson—a bovine veterinarian from Iowa State University—introduce listeners to the Executive Veterinary Program at Illinois, “an intensive continuing education program” that brings veterinarians together every other month for intensive 12-hour training on a complex issue facing the industry.
And in the most recent episode, (released on September 2, 2021), Lowe and Mitek discuss ivermectin, a parasiticide used to treat heartworm and other parasites in animals that’s been in the headlines since an anti-vaxxer touted as a way to treat COVID-19. The docs’ advice: Don’t take ivermectin to treat COVID.
To catch these episodes and other relevant topics in the world of veterinary science, listen and subscribe to The Round Barn podcast on your favorite podcatcher or at online.vetmed.illinois.edu/the-round-barn-podcast. You can also follow the podcast on Twitter @TheRoundBarn1.
For more information on the University of Illinois’ College of Veterinary Medicine’s wide range of learning opportunities, including the Master of Veterinary Science-Livestock Systems Health, visit Online.vetmed.illinois.edu.

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It’s not too late to enroll in a Summer Session 2021 course! | 6.3.2021

Do you enjoy listening and learning about music, but you aren’t a music major? Consider taking MUS 130B: Music Then and Now or MUS 133: Introduction to World Music.
MUS 130B: Music Then and Now provides non-music majors with basic listening skills, the ability to discuss music intelligently, and an acquaintance with many types of music.
MUS 133: Introduction to World Music is a survey of various musical traditions from different regions and peoples of the world.
Both courses run July 12 through August 5. Both satisfy a campus general education requirement and are open to current undergraduate and non-degree students.
Here are some other Summer Session 2021 courses, which start on June 14 and run through August 5, that still have open seats:
ATMS 120 ONL and ESE 120: Severe and Hazardous Weather (3 credit hours)
Most extreme manifestations of weather and climate are analyzed in terms of their physical basis and their historical, economic, and human consequences. In this course, emphasis is placed on the interplay between technological advances, the evolution of meteorology as a science, and the impacts of extreme weather (winter storms, floods, severe thunderstorms, hurricanes, El Nino). Technological advances include satellites, weather radars and profilers, and computer models used for weather prediction.
Runs: June 14 – August 5
Satisfies a campus general education requirement: Yes
Open to non-degree students: Yes
ATMS 140 ONL and ESE 140: Climate and Global Change (3 credit hours)
This course introduces climate change and its interactions with the global environment; surveys the physical, chemical, biological and social factors contributing to global change; distinguishes anthropogenic influences and natural variability of the earth system; and addresses societal impacts, mitigation strategies, policy options, and other human responses to global change. Other topics that will be discussed include greenhouse warming, acid rain, and ozone depletion.
Runs: June 14 – August 5
Satisfies a campus general education requirement: Yes
Open to non-degree students: Yes
BADM 300 OL: The Legal Environment of Business
This course provides an introduction to law and the legal system, litigation, contracts, business organization, intellectual property, employment law, and governmental regulation of business.
Runs: June 14 – August 5
Satisfies a campus general education requirement: No
Open to non-degree students: Yes
CHLN 100 ON2: Contemporary Health
This course examines concepts of health and health promotion in contemporary society with an emphasis on a healthy lifestyle for individuals and groups. Topics include self-care, health insurance, exercise, nutrition and weight control, sexuality, contraception, tobacco, alcohol, cardiovascular health, infectious diseases, and cancer.
Runs: June 14 – August 5
Satisfies a campus general education requirement: Yes
Open to non-degree students: No
CHLH 330 and REHB 330: Disability in American Society (3 credit hours)
This introductory course to disability studies provides students with a broad overview of the history of challenges faced by individuals with disabilities and the Disabilities Rights Movement to secure equal rights and passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Students will also delve into contemporary issues, challenges, and programs that are available to individuals with a disability and different ways to support them.
Runs: June 14 – August 5
Satisfies a campus general education requirement: Yes
Open to non-degree students: No
ECON 103 ONL: Macroeconomics Principles
This course provides an introduction to the theory of determination of total or aggregate income, employment, output, price levels, and the role of money in the economy. The primary emphasis on monetary and fiscal policy, inflation, unemployment, economic growth, and international economics.
Runs: June 14 – August 5
Satisfies a campus general education requirement: Yes
Open to non-degree students: Yes
LA 242 ONL (Same as RST 242 and NRES 242): Nature and American Culture
This course is an appreciation and critique of cultural meanings associated with American natural landscapes. Traditional perspectives including colonial American, romantic, and science-based conversation are characterized, as well as revisionist themes aligned with gender, cultural pluralism, and societal meanings of parks and protected areas. Implications of diversity in cultural meanings toward nature are developed and provide the basis for assessing tenents of contemporary environmental policy and supporting concepts associated with community-based conversation.
Runs: June 14 – August 5
Satisfies a campus general education requirement: Yes
Open to non-degree students: Yes
GEOL 111 ONL and ESE 111: Emergence of Life (3 credit hours)
This course examines important theoretical and practical questions regarding the origin and evolution of life, as well as the search for life elsewhere in the universe. It uses the pioneering work of Carl Woese whose “Tree of Life” revolutionized our understanding of the fundamental structure and evolutionary relatedness of all living entities on Earth.
Runs: June 14 – August 5
Satisfies a campus general education requirement: Yes
Open to non-degree students: Yes
These courses, which still have open seats, run July 12 through August 5:
AFST 232 C1 (SAME AS SWAH 202): Elementary Swahili II
This course is a continuation of elementary Swahili with an introduction to more advanced grammar. Students will gain more fluency in speaking, reading, and writing simples sentences in standard Swahili.
Runs: July 12 – August 5
Satisfies a campus general education requirement: No
Open to non-degree students: Yes
ARAB 202 A1: Elementary Standard Arabic II
This course is a continuation of ARAB 201. Participation in the language laboratory is required.
Runs: July 12 – August 5
Satisfies a campus general education requirement: No
Open to non-degree students: Yes
MUS 132 C: History of Rock
This course provides an analytical and historical introduction to genres of popular music from the United States and around the world. Iterations of the course may focus on a specific genre, such as Rock, Reggae, or Afropop, or may deal with broader subjects, such as the continua of styles including R&B, Soul, Funk, and Hip Hop, or the pan-generic, international phenomenon of pop music globalization in the twentieth century.
Runs: July 12 – August 5
Satisfies a campus general education requirement: Yes
Open to non-degree students: Yes
Register for your Summer Session 2021 course now. One course could make all the difference!

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Still looking for a Summer Session course? | 5.3.2021

Higher temperatures, wilder weather, rising sea levels, melting glaciers. Scientists say they’re all evidence of climate change.
If you’re interested in taking a closer look at climate change and its impact on us, consider enrolling in ATMS 140 ONL (also ESE 140): Climate and Global Change over the summer term.
This 3-credit hour course is one of the 700-plus course sections that’s being offered during Summer Session 2021, which runs May 17 through August 5 with 4-, 8-, and 12-week courses available. Check out the Summer 2021 Academic Calendar here.
ATMS 140 introduces climate change and its interactions with the global environment; surveys the physical, chemical, biological and social factors contributing to global change; distinguishes anthropogenic influences and natural variability of the earth system; and addresses societal impacts, mitigation strategies, policy options, and other human responses to global change. Other topics that will be discussed include greenhouse warming, acid rain, and ozone depletion.
This course runs June 14 – August 5 and satisfies a campus general education requirement. It is only open to current undergraduate students.
Here are some other courses that will be offered during Summer Session:
UP 160 O: Race, Social Justice, Cities (3 credit hours)
Study of the history and politics of American cities as sites of everyday struggles against systemic racialized exclusions rooted in patterns of residential segregation. Frame everyday racial encounters as surface symptoms of submerged and systematic forms of racism rooted in centuries of genocide, land theft, racial slavery, and decades of Jim Crow segregation and neoliberal exclusions. Explore everyday racial conflicts in selected cities as expressions of historical struggles for social and spatial justice, across multiple scales. Focus on the governance of routine social practices ranging from policing to education to gentrification and memorialization in public places. Final student projects will focus on social struggles against systemic and everyday racisms in a self-selected city of their choice. (Credit is not given for UP 160 if UP 199 section -"Race, Social Justice and the City” has been taken.)
Runs: June 14 – August 5
Satisfies a campus general education requirement: Yes
Open to non-degree students: Yes
ARTS 220 SB and FAA 220: Introduction to Fashion (3 credit hours)
Are you an aspiring fashion designer? Then this course is for you!
Introduction to Fashion provides an overview of the many diverse areas of interest and employment available to someone with an interest in fashion. This course will focus on the development of an individual apparel design process. Other topics include basic garment construction concepts, properties of textiles, fashion illustration, 20th-century dress history, manufacturing, trend forecasting, merchandising, and social psychology of dress.
Runs: June 14 – August 5
Satisfies campus general education requirement: Yes
Open to non-degree students: Yes
CWL 320 A, ENGL 359, JS 320, REL 320, and YDSH 320: Responses to the Holocaust (3 credit hours)
This course introduces a variety of Jewish literary responses to the Holocaust written during and after the Second World War (from 1939). The discussion of Holocaust memoirs, diaries, novels, short stories, poems, and other texts will focus on the unique contribution of literary works to our understanding of the Holocaust. In addition, the works and their authors will be situated in their Jewish cultural-historical context. (Taught in English translation.)
Runs: June 14 – August 5
Satisfies a campus general education requirement: Yes
Open to non-degree students: No
BADM 340 OL: Ethical Dilemmas of Business (3 credit hours)
We’ve all heard about companies, large and small, that have engaged in price gouging, making false service or product claims, or other unethical or professional behaviors. This course examines business decision-making and the role ethics plays in that process. Students will analyze how managers behave and whether ethical choices are knowingly made or only realized thereafter. The object is to increase awareness of the moral dimension of business activity.
Runs: June 14 – August 5
Satisfies a campus general education requirement: Yes
Open to non-degree students: No
ARCH 314A and LA 314: History of World Landscapes (4 credit hours)
The hopes, fears, imaginings, and expectations of people from the past have always been transformed into real places. In various ways, every society leaves its traces on the physical landscape, whether subtle fingerprints or dramatic and enduring structures. This course will help you learn how to read the landscape by looking at the complex alchemy that renders social values into places. The class will use informed interpretation -- in the context of social, political, and environmental history -- to transmute real landscapes back into the historical values that guided their construction.
Runs: June 14 – August 5
Satisfies a campus general education requirement: Yes
Open to non-degree students: Yes
CLVC 224 A: American Race and Ethnicity CL (3 credit hours)
Survey of American minority cultures and the reception of Greco-Roman culture in literature, film, and politics, with brief units of historical concentration on ancient slavery and proto-racism, Harvard's Indian College, early African-American poets, novelists, educators, and classicists, the Greco-Roman heritage of the Ku Klux Klan, and Civil Rights Movement leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr., Huey P. Newton, and Eldridge Cleaver. Other highlights include Derek Walcott's Caribbean/Homeric Omeros, Erin Gruwell's mixed-race Freedom Writers, and Spike Lee's Chi-Raq.
Runs: June 14 – August 5
Satisfies a campus general education requirement: Yes
Open to non-degree students: No
GEOG 105 ONL: The Digital Earth (3 credit hours)
Geospatial technologies such as global positioning systems (GPS) and geographic information systems (GIS) are becoming increasingly important tools in research and policy arenas and everyday life. This course will provide an introduction to these emerging technologies and to the principles of mapping science that underpin them. At the same time, the course will explore how these innovative technologies are changing the spaces and places around us, including how we interact with the environment and each other. Lab exercises provide hands-on experience in collecting and mapping geospatial information, interpreting digital imagery and the Earth's environments, and critically thinking about the social implications of the digital
Runs: June 14 – August 5
Satisfies a campus general education requirement: Yes
Open to non-degree students: No
ASTR 330 ONL: Extraterrestrial Life (3 credit hours)
Have you ever gazed up into the sky and wondered if there is life beyond Earth? This course offers a scientific discussion of the search for extraterrestrial life. Topics include cosmic evolution (protons to heavy elements to molecules), terrestrial evolution (chemical, biological, and cultural), high technology searches for extraterrestrial life in the solar system (Mars, Venus, outer planets); and beyond the solar system (Drake equation and current SETI projects). See the course eText.
Runs: June 14 – August 5
Satisfies a campus general education requirement: No
Open to non-degree students: No
GWS 225 AA and SOC 255: Queer Lives, Queer Politics (3 credit hours)
This course investigates queer lives in relation to dominant ideas about "deviance" and "equal rights." Drawing on case studies, the course investigates questions related to nation, race, economy, bodies, drugs, health, identities, agency, and action as they intersect with contemporary queer politics. Students will learn conceptual and qualitative methods to investigate issues related to queer lives. See this flyer, and read these scholarly articles.
Runs: May 17 – June 11
Satisfies a campus general education requirement: No
Open to non-degree students: No
View the full Summer Session Course list here.
Priority registration is currently underway, and open registration for all students begins on May 6. Get started at https://online.illinois.edu/online-courses/summer-session
To learn more, visit the Summer Session 2021 page at online.illinois.edu

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Looking for a Summer Session course? | 4.5.2021
Are you a local history buff? Then you may want to consider enrolling in the HIST 273 B: Illinois History online course over the summer break!
Illinois History is one of the 700-plus courses that’s being offered during Summer Session 2021, which runs May 17 through August 5 with 4-, 8-, and 12-week courses available. Check out the Summer 2021 Academic Calendar here.
This 3-credit-hour course examines the history of Chicago and Illinois from prehistoric times to the present, illustrating the jarring conflicts and great achievements of peoples from all over the world. Topics include politics, economics, popular and high culture, education, mass media, racial problems, and ethnic diversity. There is an emphasis on the relation of city, state, and region to one another.
- Runs: June 14 – August 5
- Satisfies campus general education requirement: Yes
- Open to non-degree students: No
If local history isn’t your thing, then there are plenty more courses in a wide variety of academic disciplines to choose from, including these:
ANTH 246 ONL: Forensic Science (4 credit hours)
This course may pique your interest if you’re thinking about becoming a forensic science technician, crime scene investigator, or medical examiner -- or you enjoy watching those CSI shows. It will provide the history and theory of underlying methods used in forensic science. Topics include the courtroom, units of a crime laboratory, methods of security and investigating a crime scene, and the analysis of evidence collected from a crime scene such as blood, fibers, hair, and fingerprints.
- Runs: June 14 – August 5
- Satisfies campus general education requirement: Yes
- Open to non-degree students: No
THEA 101 A and E: Introduction to Theatre Arts (3 credit hours)
Are you interested in the theater, but it’s not your major? Then this course is for you!
You’ll get an introduction to the theater acting, design, directing, dramaturgy, and playwriting, together with a survey of theatrical history, minority theater, and plays by women. Attendance at Department of Theater productions (ticket fee required).
- THEA 101 A Runs: May 17 – June 11
- THEA 101 E Runs: June 14 – August 5
- Satisfies a campus general education requirement: Yes
- Open to non-degree students: Yes
CHLH 330 and REHB 330: Disability in American Society (3 credit hours)
This introductory course to disabilities studies provides students with a broad overview of the history of challenges faced by individuals with disabilities and the Disabilities Rights Movement to secure equal rights and passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Students will also delve into contemporary issues, challenges, and programs that are available to individuals with a disability and different ways to support them.
- Runs: June 14 – August 5
- Satisfies a campus general education requirement: Yes
- Open to non-degree students: No
SOC 161 BD: Introduction to Poverty (3 credit hours)
Poverty is only a problem in developing countries and areas in the United States like Appalachia, right? Think again! This course provides an introduction to sociological research about the views, experiences, causes, and consequences of poverty in both advanced and developing countries. The purpose of the course is to set the facts straight about who experiences poverty, why poverty remains pervasive, and what is being done, at home and abroad, to alleviate poverty. For more about the course, read this U of I News Bureau story.
- Runs: June 14 – August 5
- Satisfies a campus general education requirement: Yes
- Open to non-degree students: No
ANSC 250 B: Companion Animals in Society (3 credit hours)
This course explores the current and historical functions and influences of companion animals in American society. Topics include the evolution of animal protection, the use of assistance and service animals, and the growth of the pet supply industry. Controversial issues that are of current concern to society will also be examined.
- Runs: June 14 – August 5
- Satisfies campus general education requirement: Yes
- Open to non-degree students: Yes
GLBL 228 A and HIST 257: Terrorism, Past, and Present (3 credit hours)
This course explores the history of terrorism, its goals, and practices. We recognize that it is not specific to any one ideology, religion, or people. Terrorism is political violence, psychological warfare meant to manipulate a large target audience.
- Runs: June 14 – August 5
- Satisfies a campus general education requirement: Yes
- Open to non-degree students: No
RST 224 ONL: Politics of the National Parks (3 credit hours)
When most people think about our national parks, they are planning – or dreaming of – their vacation. But how did they come into existence, and how has public policy shaped them over the years?
This course examines the politics of national parks in the United States, including the creation of parks, local support or opposition to parks, and park policy as well as policy questions such as the value of wilderness ecosystem management, endangered species protection, and role of parks in national identity and remembrance of events such as the Civil War, the Indian Wars, or the civil rights movement.
- Runs: June 14 – August 5
- Satisfies a campus general education requirement: Yes
- Open to non-degree students: No
DANC 125 OL1: Black Dances of Resistance (3 credit hours)
The Break Down: Black Dances of Resistance interrogates African American dance for its potential for social resistance. "Break Down" refers to the spirituality of perseverance and the "vital aliveness" of the African Diasporic movement that has counteracted the dismal social climate in which Black people have found themselves throughout American history. Concurrent with online lectures, students will participate in African-informed dance classes once a week to excavate the "Break Down" in selected African American dance forms including but not limited to plantation dances, hip hop, Black queer dance styles, and contemporary choreography.
- Runs: May 17 – June 11
- Satisfies a campus general education requirement: Yes
- Open to non-degree students: Yes
ANTH 209 ONL: Food, Culture, and Society (3 credit hours)
Food is much more than nourishment for our bodies. It can be a part of our cultural identity. It can be a means of political control. This course introduces basic anthropological and sociological methods, concepts, and approaches to the study of food. It explores issues including gender roles, religious influences, family relationships, community sharing, nationalist rituals, and global processes in the production, distribution, and consumption of food. Film, ethnographies, and other social science studies will be examined. Watch a video on the course.
- Runs: June 14 – August 5
- Satisfies campus general education requirement: Yes
- Open to non-degree students: No
View the full Summer Session Course list here.
Priority registration begins in conjunction with Fall 2021 registration on April 19, and open registration for all students begins on May 6. Get started at https://online.illinois.edu/online-courses/summer-session
To learn more, visit the Summer Session 2021 page at online.illinois.edu
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