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Professor William Marelich (left) teaches a summer psychology course.

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.