With the Iowa caucuses approaching quickly, one professor at Iowa State seeks to help students understand just what the events are all about.

Steffen Schmidt, university professor of political science, is hoping to help students better understand the caucus process by offering an online Iowa caucus class titled “The Iowa Presidential Caucuses: History, The 2008 Elections, and The Future.” The class is designated as Political Science 312.

This class, which is exclusively offered online, will be a mini-course that begins Oct. 15 and ends Dec. 14. Currently, the class is at maximum capacity with 75 students. However, Schmidt is hoping to allow another section of students to take the class for no credit with lower registration fees.

Student interest for this class came quite quickly. With some advertising done by Schmidt and word of mouth from political science students, the credited slots were full before the first day of classes began at Iowa State.

Schmidt, who has never taught a class on Iowa caucuses before, is excited to begin. The online class will offer some short videos, including a documentary on Howard Dean and his trail through Iowa in the last presidential race in which he attempted to win the caucuses, titled “Take it Back.” The class will also feature political readings, posted questions, in which response and online interaction between students will take place, and four online tests.

For students who would potentially decide to take the course for no credit, testing would be omitted; however, online discussion would be encouraged for the benefit of the other students.

Schmidt said the Iowa caucuses have, for a long time, helped presidential candidates become elected. Schmidt said he hopes the class will answer questions about how candidates were elected before the caucuses began. Other questions to be covered include where the Iowa caucus is going, how prevalent a caucus is today and what might happen to any caucuses in the future.

Levi Harms, senior in agricultural studies, thinks the Iowa caucus class could potentially be very beneficial to those who plan to participate in the caucus, as well as for others who don’t really understand the caucus process.

“A class like this should definitely be offered to political science majors at Iowa State, but also to other majors. People who don’t really understand the caucus process or who don’t get into politics might find they actually like it,” he said.