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In the midst of shopping, decorating and baking for the holidays, I find myself researching summer camps online for my daughters. ‘Tis the season, apparently

No matter what the camps focus on, all the Web sites have two things in common.  They all say, “Register today!  Enrollment is limited!”  And they all list a price that makes my wallet scream.  (Surely there are decimal points missing in that figure?)

As my daughters get older, however, I’m less satisfied with traditional “camp” offerings.  Why pay all that money just for the “camp” experience?  Instead, why not just get a fire pit for a backyard marshmallow roast and enroll them in summer courses at UW-Marshfield/Wood County?

That’s what I did last summer.  My 15-year-old daughter enrolled as a “special” student here at UW-Marshfield/Wood County and took Music 278 – History of Rock & Roll. For six weeks, she attended classes on campus with other college students from 4-6 p.m. Monday-Thursday.  She earned three humanities/ethnic studies credits that will transfer to any college/university - including the University of Wisconsin System.

High schoolers looking to get a head start on college can take advantage of summer course offerings here at UW-M/WC to reap the benefits of lower tuition, personal attention from instructors and the convenient location.  Tuition at UW-Marshfield/Wood County is 20-37 percent lower than it is at a state four-year university.  That’s in 2007 dollars – with tuition on the rise nationwide – that disparity could very well increase.

Research supports the belief that high school students who enroll in college courses on college campuses become more motivated to excel – not only in those college courses – but in subsequent high school classes as well.  Actually taking a college class gives them a huge appreciation for what will be expected from them when they are full-time college students.  Starting this experience at UW-M/WC, where the classes are small and the instructors provide personal attention, maximizes this benefit.

College students enrolled at other universities full time often take summer school courses here as well.  They, too, are taking advantage of lower tuition and smaller class sizes.

As for my daughter, she did very well in her first college class.  And she still found time to work a part-time job, take a phy ed class at Marshfield Senior High, play in the “Crazy for You” orchestra, and, yes, attend a music camp. Clearly, a college class did not destroy all her summer activities.

Summer school classes at UW-M/WC will be held in three, four and six-week sessions, from May 26 through July 18.  Registration will begin in March.  Watch our Web site – www.marshfield.uwc.edu – for the list of available classes and how they will transfer to a four-year.

Melissa Lake is director of University Relations at UW-Marshfield/Wood County, a freshmen-sophomore campus of the University of Wisconsin.