MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin will celebrate a homecoming in Camden this fall by offering lower division general education courses at Camden Junior High School, 75 Schools Drive.
The last time UT Martin held classes in Camden was 1988, and those classes marked the end to 17-year relationship which started in 1971 with the offering of three education classes.
“We are coming back to Camden because of a formal request made by Benton County School Superintendent, Jerry Dinwiddie,” said Bill Duffy, UT Martin’s interim director of the Office of Extended Campus and Continuing Education.
“Our return to Camden also is a part of UT Martin’s effort to meet the educational needs of West Tennessee as the primary four-year public-regional university in West Tennessee,” Duffy said.
Registration for a rotation of lower divisions courses is set from 3:30-6:30 p.m., Aug. 9, at the Camden Junior High School. Classes begin Aug. 16. Among the courses being offered in Camden this fall are computer science, English, health, history, math, psychology and Spanish. Each semester, for four years, the course offerings will rotate so students can complete all of their general education requirements in Camden.
Linda May, who teaches at the Benton County Vocational School, knows the advantages of having UT Martin in Benton County.
“I love to learn … it was like a hobby for me, and with small children I couldn’t drive back and forth to Martin to earn my degree,” May said. “I was able to take classes in Waverly and then as my children got older I was able to drive back and forth to Martin to finish my degree.”
May said the night classes were not only convenient, but they also brought out the best in most of her teachers. “I was able to get more out of my night classes from my teachers because they were able to share more with us at night than they could in a regular day-time class,” May said.
May said she recommends the night classes to a lot of her students. “A lot of my students have to work and they are not sure if they want to go to college, so, I tell them to take night classes and they can work and then decide if college is the way to go.”
When it comes to the indecisive student, like May’s daughter, Annie, night classes at UT Martin’s extended campus sites are the way to go. “Annie’s not interested in going to school full time right now, but she is planning to take a night class or two until she decides what she wants to do,” May said.
“The night classes are a wonderful opportunity and I would recommend them to anyone.”