By Emily Grubbs — Graduation creeping up? Having trouble fitting classes into a limited schedule? Have no idea what to do about Physical Education credit? No need to fear online gym is here.

This year an alternative way to obtain a P.E. credit has been instated.  Online gym is a way to receive a gym credit without having to give up a period. It counts as the full .5 credit every student needs in order to graduate.

Online gym is mostly geared towards seniors having trouble fitting in their P.E credit. This is because in order to obtain all credit needed for graduation one student needs to take two regular P.E. lasses at .25 credit each. However, online gym is one semester course that counts as the full .5 credit.

While the course is geared towards seniors many under classmen have found it useful.

“Online Gym is great for me, because I take a lot of honors and AP classes. So, that results in my schedule being completely full. I just don’t have time for regular P.E,” sophomore Emily King said.

However, not just anyone can take online gym. In order to be eligible a student must have a full schedule. This is because the course is to be used as a last resort for busy students.

“The course isn’t for everyone. It really takes a committed student to be successful,” counselor Cathy Ellison said.

While the online course is a convenient option, it is not an easy one. Throughout the course a student will have to write multiple essays, take many quizzes and tests, and log hours of physical exercise.

“I had to drop the course, because I did not have time to finish. It was a lot more difficult then I suspected,” sophomore Mackenzie Torcasio said.

This year 19 students took online gym and the school predicts students will continue to take the course.

[Updated Aug. 7, 2017: This article has been reformatted for consistency.]