The Summer School Sag

While most Harvard administrators have sighed with relief as enrollment lost its post-war bulge, the Summer School has unhappily watched its yearly enrollment shrink to the red ink line of its budget. Last summer's drop of twenty percent has brought new problems, both financial and academic for the School.

What most bothers the Summer Administration is that the enrollment decrease has almost entirely involved Harvard men. And the sagging Harvard enrollment promises to deepen next year, as the College tuition rise makes itself felt. There are good reasons for the Summer School's concern over its dwindling Harvard population. The School looks to the Harvard undergraduate to keep the August honor grade the approximate equal of its February counterpart. Because of its high standards the Summer School is one of the few that the College can justly accredit. But if its future standards slide, Harvard can hardly with any fairness, continue giving College credit for summer courses.

Lack of summer credit would work considerable hardship on many who find extra study vital to their Harvard education. Two years of summer work can help many students cut mounting College costs by lopping off a year from the normal four year program. While, for most students, the School provides a unique chance to unburden an often crowded winter program. And to make an academic summer still more palatable, the School features smaller classes (the largest is 80), lower prices, and new social ratios. But with increased costs everywhere, the school must explore new ways of increasing Harvard interest, if the low prices are to stay.

First, the School should move up its starting time. At present it stars around July 4th because its companion School of Education can not begin before teachers are free for the summer. This late date leaves the student little time for steady employment either before or after the session. But the Summer Administration could run the two schools separately, starting the regular one two weeks earlier than the Education school.

Secondly, although General Education requirements crowd the first two years, the School offers none of the full year G.E. courses. Many would welcome the chance to get a Social Science or Humanities course behind them, leaving the winter open for exploring some field more to their taste and interest.

In most areas, a widespread information campaign has sufficed to sell the Summer School--as shown by a slight increase in outside enrollment last summer. But unless the School can level off its large Harvard drop, it will either have to increase tuition, or condense its program. And neither move would improve summer education at Harvard.