Forced to complete a full course of material within a shortened
time length, professors, as well as students, must find ways to
work with summer sessions’ fast pace.
Professors who teach during both the regular academic year and
summer sessions adapt and plan their classes around a condensed
summer schedule.
Some classes meet more often per week during the summer than
they would during the regular school year, as a result of the time
constraint.
During Session A, the schedule ranges from six to ten weeks
depending on the class or the subject area.
In the mathematics department, the calculus professors teach in
eight-week sessions, allowing students more time to learn the
subject.
The increased time given for class meetings prevents both the
students and the professors from rushing through the course, said
Ronald Miech, professor of calculus and analytical geometry.
“I go at the same speed and work in the same way as the
regular year,” he said.
But professors who work around a shorter schedule find ways to
fit a quarter’s worth of lectures and information into six
weeks by cutting down the lecture material.
“The major difficulty is always making choices about how
best to cover the same material when you’re given lesser time
in class to work with the students,” said Karen Rowe,
professor of an English summer course on Milton.
For Rowe, the answer to this dilemma is to cut down class
discussions and contextual material in order to hone in on what she
believes are the most important aspects of her course.
Some professors recognize that students may have increased
difficulty with their workload and the time constraint, but some
students said they do not think the workload and pace is much more
rigorous than classes during the regular school year.
“There is no difference between summer and fall
classes,” said Gozde Culcu, a business Turkish exchange
student.
Although the pace may not be problematic for some,
extracurricular activities increase some students’
workloads.
Due to the intensity and pace of summer courses, taking an
outside job is not recommended because it will affect
students’ studies by giving them extra work and diverting
their attention from their academics, said Earl Thompson, professor
of a summer economics course.
On top of not planning to have summer employment, some students
decide to keep classes to a minimum over the break.
“I wouldn’t take more than one summer class unless I
had to,” said Sumit Datta, a third year biochemistry
student.
Students in the College of Letters & Science are allowed to
enroll in a maximum of 18 units without needing excess unit
approval.
Though students may be tempted to enroll in the maximum amount
of units, taking more than two courses is not recommended because
it will put a strain on the student, Rowe said.
Problems involving heavier workloads are related to the quick
pace of summer sessions, but the fast schedule can also be
positive.
“Students have to be on top of their reading, they need to
be present and accounted for, and that means that it becomes more
of an immersion experience,” Rowe said.
The summer break atmosphere proves to be a problem for some
students who must keep up with their academics and resist going out
with friends or doing other activities.
“The hardest part (of summer sessions) is knowing that
it’s summer and you want to do a lot of other things,”
Datta said.