Courses for HS Students & Community Enrichment

Elmira College provides many learning opportunities for high school students and those of all ages in the community.

Get an early start on earning college credits through our for-credit courses, or expand your horizons with one of our non-credit courses and learn valuable babysitting skills or explore the art form of Raku pottery.

Summer 2024 Non-Credit Programs

Babysitting Course

This non-credit Red Cross Babysitting Certification course will prepare you with many important child care skills, such as managing a household, safety, discipline, games and activities, and feeding and diapering. Learn from a certified Red Cross instructor through scenario-based activities, and gain an understanding of how to grow your business. Non-certification first aid and CPR will also be taught.

Raku Workshop with Professor Chris Longwell 

Raku firing is an ancient Japanese ceramics technique dating back to the 16th century that has been use to create a very unique finish to wares.

Works are traditionally crafted by hand and not thrown on a potter's wheel. Glazed ceramics are taken from the kiln while they are still glowing red hot and placed in a material that would be able to catch fire, such as sawdust or newspaper. This technique is used to starve the piece of oxygen, which creates a myriad of colors within the glaze. Raku firing without glaze on them means that the oxygen is taken from the clay itself rather than a glaze, which produces a matte black coloring on some areas of the piece. 

Raku firing creates completely unique pieces since you never know how the final piece will turn out.

In this workshop, you will engage in two three-hour work sessions where you will create clay objects. After the works are dried and bisque fired, you will glaze and fire the work. 

At several workshop sessions, participants will make pizza in the Elmira College Art Department's wood-burning pizza oven. 

For ages 18 and up. 

Elemental Astrology Summer Workshop

This transformative workshop will deepen your astrological knowledge and open doors to self-discovery and compassion. You'll learn basic astrological concepts in a fun setting with creative activities, games, and storytelling. You'll Explore the four elements (earth, water, air, fire) and their significance in astrology while building a foundation for self-awareness and understanding differences with others.

For ages 10-14. There is a limit of 12 participants per session.

Summer 2024 For-Credit Programs

Interested in taking any of the classes listed below? Please fill out this registration form and email it to the Office of the Registrar at registrar@sys-filter.com to get started.

All courses except for Organic Chemistry are offered online.

Visit our Undergraduate Tuition and Costs page for more information about course pricing.

Native Peoples of North America

ANT 2120
500

July 1 - August 9

Meets *NWP distribution requirement.

This course considers the diversity of Native American cultures from the Arctic to Panama, including their origins, formation, and development, and incorporates a comparative focus utilizing ethnographic, ethnohistorical, ethnological and archaeological materials. The objective is to facilitate an understanding of the contemporary status of North American Indians. This course examines the traditional cultures of this continent’s indigenous population as they existed prior to extensive European contact and the post-contact cultural change up to the present time. Considerable attention is devoted to understanding the nature of the past and present relationship between Native Americans and Whites. Instruction includes lectures, discussions, and student reports. Films will also be shown. Grades are determined by two scheduled tests during the term, a final examination, and the oral class report, with each counting equally.

Intro to Art History: Renaissance to Modern

ARH 2101
500

May 21 - June 28

Meets *WEP Distribution Requirement.

A survey of the history of art covering the Renaissance, the Baroque and Rococo, the 19th Century, and into the 20th Century. The major focus will be upon the European art of these periods, with a primary interest in painting, sculpture, and architecture. The emphasis will be on the art that was created and the social and philosophical significance of this art. The instruction will include illustrated lecture and documentation of the periods, and the work being discussed. Classroom discussion is always open for student participation. Evaluation will be based on a minimum of two examinations, plus some quizzes – all of which will be announced. These tests will be primarily concerned with the identification, analysis (literary, social, and philosophical) and comparisons of works of art.

Anatomy and Physiology I

BIO 1210
500

May 21 - July 19

Co-requisite: Must be taken with a BIO 1210 lab.

The student should be able to identify the gross and microscopic morphology of the skeletal, muscular, and nervous systems, explain the mechanism and physical bases underlying the functioning (physiology) of the above system, explain the control mechanisms that are involved in the interactions of the systems to maintain homeostasis, and indicate ways in which the systems might malfunction. The instruction includes three hours of lecture, plus one three-hour lab per week. There will be weekly quizzes in the lab, plus two one-hour exams, and one two-hour final.

Anatomy and Physiology I Lab

BIO 1210
L500

May 21 - July 19

Co-requisite: Must be taken with a BIO 1210 lecture.

The student should be able to identify the gross and microscopic morphology of the skeletal, muscular, and nervous systems, explain the mechanism and physical bases underlying the functioning (physiology) of the above system, explain the control mechanisms that are involved in the interactions of the systems to maintain homeostasis, and indicate ways in which the systems might malfunction. There will be three hours of lecture, plus one three-hour lab per week. In addition, there will be weekly quizzes in lab, plus two one-hour exams, and one two-hour final.

Epidemiology

BIO 3000
500

May 21 - June 28

This course will focus on the study of the nature of epidemics and the biological, chemical, and physical factors contributing to the initiation of epidemics. There will be an emphasis placed on the integration of biological and statistical elements in the sequence of epidemiologic reasoning that seeks to determine the causes of diseases, both infectious and non-infectious.

Objectives:

• Understand the historical background and conceptual basis of epidemiology
• Utilize mortality and morbidity data and apply such data to epidemiologic problems
• Design and evaluate retrospective and prospective studies
• Evaluate the validity of epidemiologic studies by applying statistical methods and reasoning processes
• Be familiar with a variety of epidemiologic studies that have been conducted in recent times
• Be aware of the multitude of factors that affect the process of disease
• Be aware of the different ways in which disease manifests itself

There will be one three-hour lecture and discussion per week. Students will design and conduct an epidemiologic study and each student will prepare an individual study report using collected data, or students will prepare and present a paper on a selected topic.  Evaluation will be based on class participation (5%), quizzes (20%), assigned problems (10%), midterm exam (25%), final exam (25%), and study report (15%).

Organic Chemistry I

CHE 2010
01

May 21 - June 14

Co-requisite: Must be taken with a CHE 2010 LAB.

CHE 2011, Problem Solving, is not a requirement in order to take Organic Chemistry I.

The first in the two-part series of Organic Chemistry courses, this will introduce you to the chemistry of compounds containing carbon and hydrogen, with a review of atomic orbitals and hybridization and discussions focused on the classification of various groups of organic compounds, naming schemes, their preparation, and physical and chemical properties. We'll also have detailed discussions about mechanisms and energetic considerations. NMR spectroscopy will be introduced as well as chirality, optical activity, and stereoisomerism. Synthesis schemes will be introduced and we'll practice various techniques for syntheses and purification of chemicals in the laboratory.

The goals of the course will be to:

• Recognize and identify functional groups
• Recall and apply certain common reactions of organic compounds
• Relate structures to physical and chemical properties,
• Name, by the IUPAC and common systems, certain simple compounds,
• Design synthetic pathways to selected organic compounds using starting materials,
• Predict reactions under specific conditions based on currently accepted mechanisms,
• Acquire proficiency in the purification techniques used in organic chemistry,
• Recognize and apply the principles upon which these purification techniques are based,
• Identify organic compounds
• Classify stereoisomers

Objectives:

• Apply concepts including, but not limited to, stereochemistry, molecular orbital theory, reaction design
• Identify and construct protecting group reaction schemes
• Create and evaluate retrosynthetic analyses
• Identify and name organic structures. (Nomenclature)
• Employ basic mathematical concepts to solve chemical problems

The course will be primarily taught through online lectures and classroom discussion and problem solving. The course will follow the required textbook and will be partially supplemented by handouts and web references. Students will be given homework sets along with in-class tests and quizzes. There will be review sessions available outside of the normal class time at the student's request and the instructor's discretion. Students will be able to have one-on-one review-study sessions with the instructor during office hours by appointment. Evaluation will be based on tests (400 pts), a final (Cumulative 200 pts), homework (150 pts.), and quizzes (150 pts.).

Organic Chemistry I Lab

CHE 2010
L01

May 21 - June 14

Co-requisite: Must be taken with CHE 2010 lecture.

This laboratory will develop basic manipulative skills, including introduction to separation, purification techniques and organic syntheses. You will also learn the principles of laboratory safety including how to handle, use, and dispose of hazardous chemicals along with safe laboratory etiquette. You will also learn how to use modern instrumentation (IR, NMR, and GC-MS).

Objectives:

• Construct, demonstrate and evaluate chemical syntheses and determine alternate methods of synthesis
• Operate chemical instrumentation and analyze their results from the instrumentation
• Search the scientific literature and summarize their results in written form
• Demonstrate and use proper safety procedures in a chemical laboratory

The course will be primarily taught through pre-lab lectures and discussion. The course will follow the required laboratory textbook and will be partially supplemented by handouts and web references. Students will be allowed to ask questions during the laboratory portion. Students will be responsible for maintaining a proper laboratory manual and writing lab reports (short and formal). Students will be able to have one-on-one review/study sessions with the instructor during office hours by appointment. Evaluation will be based on lab notebooks (200 pts), short reports (450 pts), formal lab reports (250 pts), pre-lab abstracts (200 pts), and lab exam (200 pts).

Organic Chemistry II

CHE 2020
91

June 17 - July 11

CHE 2021, Problem Solving, is not a requirement in order to take Organic Chem II.

Co-requisite: Must be taken with lab CHE 2020L.

This is a continuation of CHE 2010, with the same course objectives. Emphasis will be on developing an understanding of structure property relationships and the use of a mechanistic approach to the prediction of reactions. In addition, students will be expected to develop the laboratory and information gathering skills needed to carry out a multi-step synthesis, to name compounds by appropriate nomenclature systems, and to predict reactions of compounds containing more than one function a group.

Objectives:

• Explaining, discussing and analyzing qualitative spectra (FT-NMR, FT-IR, UV-Vis and Mass Spectrums)
• Analyzing, designing and comparing synthetic strategies
• Constructing and propose their own synthetic pathways
• Identifying and classifying functional groups, reaction types and reactivities of organic compounds

This course will be primarily taught through lectures and classroom discussion. The course will follow the required textbook and will be partially supplemented by handouts and web references. Along with having an open-lecture where students will be allowed to ask questions or add comments, the course will involve group discussions and problem set sessions. Students will be given homework sets along with in-class tests and quizzes. There will be review sessions available outside of the normal class time at the student's request and the instructor's discretion. Students will be able to have one-on-one review/study sessions with the instructor during office hours by appointment. Evaluation will be based on tests (400 pts.), a final (Cumulative 200 pts.), homework (150 pts.), and quizzes (150 pts.).

Organic Chemistry II Lab

CHE 2020
L01

June 17 - July 11

Co-requisite: Must be taken with lecture CHE 2020.

This laboratory will develop basic manipulative skills, including introduction to separation and purification techniques and to organic syntheses. You will also learn the principles of laboratory safety including how to handle, use and dispose of hazardous chemicals along with safe laboratory etiquette.

Objectives:

• Construct, evaluate and employ chemical syntheses and determine alternate methods of synthesis
• Operate chemical instrumentation and analyze their results from the instrumentation
• Assess the scientific literature and discuss their results in written form
• Explain an apply proper safety procedures in a chemical laboratory

Instruction will be based on discussions, lab work and reporting. Evaluation will include a short report (420 pts), notebook pages (70 pts), formal lab report (Ester) (120 pts), Ester notebook pages (20 pts), pre-lab abstracts (160 pts), sulfanilamide presentation (250 pts), sulfanilamide lab report (200 pts), sulfanilamide notebook pages (60 pts).

Ethics

PHR 1006
500

May 21 - June 28

Meets WEP Distribution Requirement.

This course will cover a number of moral theories and several contemporary moral problems, including issues such as abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, the environment, and world hunger. The primary aim of this course is to help all of us gain a rational perspective on the pros and cons of different positions toward difficult moral issues. Instruction will include lectures and discussions.