Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 8, 2005

Contact: Eric Gerber
713.743.8189 (office)
713.617.7130(pager)
egerber@uh.edu

HOUSTON, Sept. 8, 2005 – In order to allow existing courses to proceed and to give a fair opportunity to hurricane-affected students, the University of Houston is closing enrollment into existing classes as of Thursday, Sept. 8, at 4 p.m., but offering an extension for a special set of courses.

“By next week, 20 percent of the semester will have been completed, making it extremely difficult for new students to catch up to the rest of the class,” said Donald Foss, UH senior vice president and provost. “However, we do understand the need for these displaced college students to have the chance to work on their degrees during the fall semester. So we have developed a shortened semester program featuring the highest demand courses.”

The university will open this new set of courses through a “Second Start” semester that will begin Sept. 20 for those students unable to enroll in existing classes. This compressed semester will last 10 weeks with classes offered in the evenings, weekends and through online and taped courses. The coursework will focus on undergraduate core courses and high-demand upper division classes.

Students interested in enrolling in the Second Start semester must have their application filed by 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 14.

For information about enrolling in existing classes on Thursday, or about the new Second Start semester, contact the university at 713-743-2255. For information about Secord Start classes visit http://www.uh.edu/news/katrina/. The course schedule is available at http://www.uh.edu/news/
katrina/courses/.

About the University of Houston
The University of Houston, Texas’ premier metropolitan research and teaching institution, is home to more than 40 research centers and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate, civic and governmental entities. UH, the most diverse research university in the country, stands at the forefront of education, research and service with more than 35,000 students.

For more information about UH visit the university’s ‘Newsroom’ at www.uh.edu/admin/media/newsroom.