Summer School’s revised calendar begins June 22

In response to the impending changes to the Harvard academic calendar, particularly in light of the limited summer weeks in 2009, the Harvard Summer School has revised its calendar for 2009.

The dates for the summer session in 2009 are June 22 through Aug. 7.

In 2009, the Harvard Summer School calendar will feature:

• A single seven-week term, including final examinations, which will accommodate both four- and eight-credit courses.

• A revised class meeting schedule in which there will be the same or an increased number of instructional hours for each course.

• Generous blocks of assigned classroom times, providing instructors with flexibility for arranging class meetings, discussions, film viewings, breaks, and trips.

• Courses that previously met for two and a half hours will now have scheduled meeting times of three hours. Eight-credit courses (intensive sciences, languages, math, etc.) will have the entire day at their disposal for instruction.

• A reading period of four to six days for most courses and as much as a week for preparation of writing assignments and final projects.

The changes have been made in consultation with Harvard Summer School teaching and administrative staff and have taken into account the nature of the summer school program, its student constituencies, and its reliance on Harvard College facilities. Foremost in the Harvard Summer School’s considerations has been the goal of continuing to offer a broad array of rigorous and challenging courses.

Given the School’s dependence on Harvard College facilities, this schedule permits the School to coordinate its activities closely with those of the College and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. This calendar responds to the unique constraints of summer 2009 in which there will be a June Commencement and earlier start date for the fall term. After the Harvard calendar has stabilized in its new format, the Harvard Summer School will review its schedule for subsequent summer terms.