FAQs

You need access to a computer (desk or laptop) and a reliable internet connection for the duration of the course. You need a web camera and microphone (most laptops have them built-in). Many courses have online instructor office hours, so having a camera and microphone will help you connect with instructors.

All UCSC online courses rely on YouTube and Google for videos and other course materials. If you are taking an online course in a country that blocks YouTube or Google, please email us at summer@ucsc.edu, and we will provide accommodation.

One way to make sure you have complete access to your online course and other online resources at UCSC is to install and use the university’s VPN (virtual private network), which allows you to use the internet as if you were on UCSC’s campus. Follow the steps here – https://its.ucsc.edu/vpn/index.html

Follow the steps here – https://its.ucsc.edu/vpn/index.html

To access library materials, login through the campus VPN available here: https://its.ucsc.edu/vpn/installation.html

You will need to download the campus VPN software, and then login with your CruzID and Gold password. Once logged in via the campus VPN, you can navigate to the library homepage for immediate access. No barcode or library account creation will be required.

After enrolling in a course:

Start checking your UCSC email.

A few days before your course begins, instructors will email instructions to your ucsc.edu email account.

When you enroll in your courses, you will not get any automatic or immediate emails from the faculty. They will message you closer to the start date. In your portal, if you see that you are enrolled in a course you can be confident that you are, in fact, in the class.

Most courses are hosted on Canvas. You do not need to sign up for an account as you can log in with your CruzID and Gold Password at canvas.ucsc.edu directly. See Canvas Getting Started Student Guide.

Please note: MATH 19A, 19B, 23A are hosted here – /login.uconline.edu

If you add or drop an online class, it can take 24-48 hours for the course to be added or removed from your Canvas account.

All summer courses have add/drop/withdraw deadlines by session. See our Summer Academic Calendar.

The majority of Summer Session classes are five credits and five weeks long. Most in-person and synchronous online courses meet twice weekly for approximately 3.5 hours each.

Our faculty know how challenging 3.5 hours are for attention spans. The classes combine lectures, breaks, group work, discussions, etc. There are also study and review sections in and out of class time. Depending on the type of courses you take, there could be experiments, tours/outings, guest speakers, or sharing/reflecting seminar style. 

In most online classes, you will spend about seven hours each week watching lectures, reading course texts, completing quizzes, writing papers or studying for exams, posting to discussion forums, or working on projects with your classmates.

UCSC Academic Advising recommends 2 hours of studying for every 1 hour of class time. More reading-intensive classes might say 3 hours. Art or film could be even longer with time put into developing your work – so this can vary by course, too.

You can also review former summer syllabi to get a feel for pace, requirements, and grading.

Sections and discussion forums are your opportunity to apply what you learn from the lectures and reading materials while interacting with your classmates to test your ideas.

Most courses have discussion forums, and a few online courses have synchronous discussion sections that meet roughly 1-3 times over the summer session.

A final exam (or paper/project) is due at the end of most courses, and often one midterm during week 3. A typical Summer Session final takes place in the last scheduled class meeting. If the course requires papers or projects, they can be due the last week, sometimes Friday night. There is no separate finals week.

In a few online courses, exams are proctored by ProctorU, a video conferencing tool that allows students to take online proctored exams from just about anywhere. There is a per-exam fee of roughly $20. Check with your instructor to determine whether your course will utilize this service.

You cannot control sickness, but missing even one day of a five-week class is 1/10 of your course and will result in you losing important course material. Avoid scheduling anything that would interfere with your class attendance. No accommodations can be made for family vacations.

Check your course syllabus or reach out to your instructor.

Both in-person and online classes usually have weekly assignment deadlines, and occasionally, exams are scheduled at times when students have more flexibility (e.g., early in the morning, late at night, or on weekends).

Course due dates are modeled on a typical summer session 2-day schedule: assignments are due roughly twice per week, and assignments are usually available 3 days before they are due.

Students enrolled in online classes will be expected to have access to a computer with a stable internet connection throughout the session. 

Course evaluations are done completely online at the end of your course. Evaluations are sent to your ucsc.edu email.

Evaluations are extremely important: instructors, teaching assistants, departments, and Summer Session value your feedback and use it to make real change.

Students are responsible for their conduct while on campus or online.

Students and parents/guardians need to understand that our high school summer opportunities are designed for independence. Both students and parents should evaluate the student’s maturity and readiness for independence before committing to the program.

Yes, high school students can drive themselves to campus for class, but they must purchase a Summer Session parking permit.

On-campus university housing is not available for high school students. Students can commute to campus via Metro bus (free with enrollment) or car (purchase a parking pass). Commuter transportation is solely the responsibility of students and/or their parents.

If you registered but never enrolled in classes, no action is required. If you enrolled in a class, you MUST DROP yourself before the deadline. If you do not drop yourself from a course, you will be responsible for paying the tuition and Campus Fee.