The idea was spurred by Kathleen O’Neill, director of Single Stop at BHCC, a former adjunct psychology professor who noticed students falling asleep during her 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. lectures. After speaking with the students, she discovered that many were exhausted from working night shifts or taking care of children.
“After working all night, 1:30 p.m. is still early,” said O’Neill. “They were good students, and they’d say, ‘I want to do well in school but I have to work,’ so it wasn’t working them. I thought, “This is crazy! There are so many students who have stories like that, why don’t we just offer classes late at night and see how that goes?’”
O’Neill brought her idea to John Reeves, chair of the Behavioral Science Department, who then brought the idea to BHCC President Mary L. Fifield, who loved the idea. From there, “it really mushroomed very quickly,” said O’Neill.
Understanding that some professors might be put off by the idea of having to teach lengthy late-night lectures, O’Neill volunteered to spearhead the movement and taught “Psychology 101: Principles of Psychology” from 11:45 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. in the Fall 2009 semester.
“[Midnight courses] fit into a lot of people’s schedules,” said O’Neill. “A lot of people are not 9-to-5 workers. The students in that first class—there was one mother who had two young girls who didn’t have to get a babysitter because her husband was home. There was a detective who would come in right after his shift, and a police officer who would take a class then go to work. There was another mother of five who worked during the day who was determined to get an education and did it.”
Midnight courses allow non-traditional students the opportunity to achieve a degree while simultaneously fulfilling the other demands and responsibilities in their lives. BHCC will offer five midnight courses this coming spring: College Writing II, Colonization thru Civil War, World Religions, Principles of Psychology, and Principles of Sociology.
“These students want an education, but because of the demands in their lives, of needing to work, it wasn’t working into it,” said O’Neill. “There are not enough hours in the day, but there are more hours in the night.”
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