Winter Session provides an opportunity for students to earn credit toward their degree during winter break with a three-week, online intensive learning experience. The Division of Continuing Education works in partnership with faculty and departments to deliver a mix of course offerings to meet the needs of a variety of students and community members. We are particularly interested in offering our learning community a unique online experience that provides elements of experiential learning and promotes peer engagement among students.
Winter Session is treated as an accelerated term within the spring semester. Courses run from December 21, 2023 to January 11, 2024.
Winter Session Policies & Procedures
The Winter Session Faculty Handbook has the most up-to-date information regarding course proposal and course development procedures, program policies and teaching compensation. Faculty interested in proposing and teaching winter courses should become familiar with the handbook before proposing a course.
Course Development
The online course design process begins in early September. We anticipate all course development will be completed by November 27, 2023. See below for a tentative schedule.
Timeline
Proposals Due
July 12
Course Development Begins
September 11
Course Drafts Complete
November 27
Course Finalized & Published
December 18
Classes Begin
December 21
For more details on CE’s approach to quality course design, please see the Course Development section of the Faculty Handbook. For resources, ideas, and guidance related to online course design and development, visit the Learning Design Group resources page and the CTL Remote and Online Teaching page.
Experiential and Interactive Activities
Instructors are encouraged to integrate experiential activities into their courses as a way of engaging students more fully in the online learning environment. For example, courses can integrate project-based, experiential learning activities where students interview experts, engage in community activities, and/or work on multimedia projects. Winter Session instructors might also leverage the fact that many students are home for the holidays, so students might be asked to collect oral histories around a particular theme from family and friends, or to research local places of interest relevant to the course topic (architecture, museums, historical points of interest, etc.). Instructors might consider integrating interactions among students that combine both social and educational elements, including: “social hour” group projects; student-led, synchronous discussions in small groups; group course-related scavenger hunts, etc.
Call for Proposals
The Division of Continuing Education invites CU faculty to submit a course proposal for Winter Session 2023-2024. Faculty interested in submitting a proposal should draw from their department’s existing inventory of 1-, 2 -, or 3-credit courses that lend themselves to an accelerated 3-week schedule, delivered online. We are particularly interested in courses that are typically oversubscribed, upper division core and elective courses, and “topics” courses. Courses that incorporate elements of student-to-student engagement and experiential learning are highly encouraged.
Faculty ready to propose a Winter Session course should submit the Winter Session Course Proposal Form.
Completed proposals are due by July 12, 2023.
Campus Holidays
Please note that the university is officially closed for Winter Break from December 25, 2023 through January 1, 2024. As a result, you may experience delays of a day or so when you request support during these dates. For assistance during this time, instructors are directed to email ldg@colorado.edu or WinterSession@colorado.edu.