Summer session enrollments increased again this year with administrators crediting the rise to such factors as students' strategic planning for their academic programs, additional financial aid from the University and a weak national economy.
The University saw a 21 percent increase in the number of students enrolled for Summer Session Term I from 2002 to 2003 and an 89 percent increase since 2000. Statistics for Term II 2003 are not yet available.
"It has been apparent to me for some time that Duke students were using their summers in educationally purposive ways and that this trend could be expected to increase," Robert Thompson, dean of Trinity College, wrote in an e-mail.
He noted that while some students arrange career-related work or study abroad during the summer, some also choose to attend summer sessions to meet the University's 34-course requirement, give maximum attention to challenging courses or pursue topics of interest.
The University has responded to the trend by revising its financial aid policy from an eight semester limit to a nine semester limit, with two terms of summer session counting as one semester. Thompson said this decision was consistent with the University's need-blind admissions policy and was meant to ensure that all students, regardless of their financial situation, could attend summer sessions if they so desired.
Paula Gilbert, director of continuing education and summer session, said a high level of interest in completing a second major, a minor or a certificate program might also account for some of the increased summer enrollments.
"There are also students who enroll because they didn't snare the internship they wanted, or who want to graduate early, or who decide it would be easier to find work here than at home," she wrote in an e-mail.
Although many tagged the weak national economy as a factor in increased summer school enrollments, Tom Halasz, associate director of the Career Center, said it played only a small part in the overall trend.
"Any explanation relating to the economy is not unreasonable because taking extra classes in the summer is a good option if you can't get employment," Halasz said. "In Duke's case, I don't think it's the sole or greatest reason for an increase in summer enrollment."
Some have pointed to core Curriculum 2000 requirements as a possible factor leading to the increase. However, administrators said the curriculum should not be viewed as a "problem" that forces students into summer school.
"I do not think the increase reflects problems with the curriculum," Thompson wrote. "Rather the increase reflects additional opportunities.... The campus in the summer has a wonderful, relaxed, intergenerational ambiance."
Gilbert, who is also assistant dean of Trinity College, said increased summer session enrollments have translated into slightly larger classes, although most still have fewer than 20 students. "Courses larger than that are - almost without exception - to be found in biology, chemistry and physics," she wrote.
In particular, she said there was a jump in enrollment this summer for Physics 53L and 54L due to policy changes in that department.
Despite slightly larger summer class sizes, administrators agreed that increased summer enrollment has, overall, been beneficial to students and to the University.
For example, increased enrollments have allowed the University to schedule some additional courses over the summer, giving students a broader selection within the pared-down offerings of a traditional summer session.
"The increased demand allows us to make commitments to faculty to teach in the summer, increases predictability of offerings for both faculty and students, and increases the number of course offerings," Thompson wrote.
William Chafe, dean of the faculty of Arts & Sciences, noted that increased enrollments may induce more faculty of rank to respond to the demand.
He added that another perk to increased summer school enrollments has been the "extraordinary revenue, which was unexpected," generated from summer tuition. He estimated that Arts & Sciences has received a quarter to a third more revenue from recent summer sessions.
Thompson acknowledged the role of summer session revenue within Arts & Sciences, but stressed that the sessions are "educationally driven."
"The purpose is to meet an educational need, not to generate revenue," he wrote. "But of course, revenue is nice if it happens."
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