After a growing student demand, Steffen Schmidt, university professor of political science, is opening up his new Iowa caucus class, Political Science 312, for more students to take fall semester.

The original Iowa caucus class, which was planned to be a 2-credit, half-semester course for 75 or fewer people, now is being offered to up to 120 students.

Class discussion will be key to learning about the caucus, and digital interviews and media will also be offered.

In addition to the credit course, a noncredit class over the same material also will be offered. Students who are interested in learning about the Iowa caucus and Iowa politics, but do not necessarily need the credits, are encouraged to partake in the discussion and online learning. A certificate of completion after a brief summary test will be offered to noncredit students, if desired.

The signup for the noncredit course is scheduled to be offered online at some point this week. Schmidt said he hopes some nonmajors will take interest in the course. He said students in fields such as journalism, public relations, marketing and business are encouraged to join in the class discussion.

Schmidt, who came up with the idea to start this class, is working with a small team to make sure all glitches are taken care of before the class begins in mid-October.

Assisting Schmidt in the class will be Michael McCoy, graduate student in interdisciplinary graduate studies, and Mykola Sarazhynskyy, instructional development specialist for continuing and distance education.

Topics discussed will include the past, present and future of the Iowa caucuses, what makes the caucuses special and how political parties interact in the process.

The class begins on Oct. 15 and ends at the end of the semester.

Brandy Taylor, junior in chemical engineering, said she would enroll in a class like this to get a better understanding of how the Iowa caucus fits into the national political spectrum.

“I think I would take this course for noncredit. I would want to know how caucuses work and what presidential campaigns actually do in the caucus,” she said. “Iowa is such a political state and in every election, we are always on the fence of the two political parties. It would be interesting to understand it more.”