J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College is hoping to attract new students this fall -- and save them gas at the same time -- by offering a number of core courses on Fridays at its Parham campus.

The school’s "Fuel Smart Fridays" program would allow students to earn credits in as many as four subjects by attending classes on Fridays only during the fall semester. Eight classes in six subjects (math, English, art, history, psychology and information technology) are available.

School officials estimate that a student who otherwise would have traveled 100 miles a week to and from five days of classes would save about $1,085 and 1,280 miles per semester in fuel. That’s almost the same amount as tuition for four three-credit courses ($1,117).

While the program may assist some returning students, it was designed primarily to attract new ones who otherwise couldn’t afford to miss work or pay for fuel in order to attend several days of classes, said JSRCC’s Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs, Nanette Smith.

The idea for the program came from the dean of JSRCC’s School of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Barbara Glenn, who had learned of a similar program at the Volunteer State Community College in Tennessee, Smith said. JSRCC officials had been seeking ways in which to attract new students.

"I liked it, I took it back to my [administrative] team, and they liked it," Smith said.

Officials settled on Fridays for the program because the campus had the most available class space on that day, Smith said.

Smith conceded that the school may not realize the full potential of the program this semester since it decided to introduce it late in the summer. The spring semester, she said, will provide a more realistic look at how successful the program will be.

Students can’t complete enough credits on Fridays alone to fulfill a fulltime credit load, "but they can get a pretty good start," Smith said. Officials anticipate that at a minimum, those who sign up for the Friday courses will reduce their number of weekly trips to campus from five to three.

JSRCC officials are using the program as a pilot, to determine whether to offer it at their Richmond and Goochland campuses in the future, Smith said.

The campus bookstore will receive a list of all students signed up for the courses so that on their first day of class, all of their textbooks already will have been pulled for them and they’ll have a separate checkout line to speed the process, Smith said. Extra tutors also are lined up for the students.

"We have really involved just about the entire school," Smith said.

Students can register for courses online at www.reynolds.edu, on campus or by phone ((804) 371-3308). Normal registration ends Aug. 25 (the first day of classes) but late registration will be available through Aug. 29, which is also the first day of Fuel Smart Friday classes.

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