Arizona Summer Wildcat

Extra cash and shorter, more intense sessions, professors say, are the main reasons they brave the heat to teach summer school at the UA.

Professors are paid extra for electing to teach summer school, said Anne Fillmore, summer school program coordinator.

The extra pay comes in one of two forms - a guaranteed salary or on a contingency basis, depending on the number of students in a class, she said.

Teachers volunteer from individual departments to staff summer school classes, she said.

Political science lecturer James Todd said each department is different, but usually lower-level salaried faculty members are the ones teaching.

For nine years, Todd taught summer classes to supplement his income and pay off the debt he incurred while earning his doctorate. He said although he needs the money, he also enjoys teaching. A rapport in class develops more quickly in the summer than during the academic year, he said.

Assistant sociology Professor James Ranger-Moore's original motivation for teaching in the summer was also financial, he said via electronic mail.

However, Ranger-Moore said he enjoys the atmosphere of summer school and the students' willingness to immerse themselves into the material.

Laura Maccammon said in an interview, via electronic mail, that the primary motivation for her to teach summer school was also financial. Maccammon is an assistant theatre arts professor who teaches one class during the first summer session.

"While the time is more compressed during summer school, I think the learning experience can actually be better because it's more focused," she said. "The students usually don't take many classes, and they can be more focused on the ones they do take."

"It's hard to achieve that level of focus during the academic year," Ranger-Moore said.

Approximately 1,250 teachers, ranging from graduate students to retired professors, accommodate an estimated 12,000 students attending summer school, Fillmore said. But, according to the Summer Session Office, students attending more than one session or class are counted twice. A more accurate student count will not be available until later in the summer.

About 70 percent of this year's summer school classes are taught by faculty members, she said. Graduate students teach the remaining 30 percent. That is down from a few years ago, when the percentages were almost even.

Summer classes are held daily in three short sessions beginning in May and continuing through August. Presession lasts for three weeks. The first and second sessions are about four weeks each.

William Barrett, vice dean of the College of Business and Public Administration, said that a considerable work load exists for university faculty over the summer. Many of them, he said, are catching up from the spring semester, doing research or writing books.

Deans, unlike professors, are on 12-month appointments and do not have a choice about being at the university during the hottest months of the year.

Linda Sanders, acting dean of architecture, said most of the planning for the academic year is done in the summer.

Though the sessions are much shorter than that of a traditional semester, the classes contain the same amount of material.

Barbara Kosta, a German studies professor who teaches 33 students in presession, likes the daily contact with the students.

"I really enjoy the intensity of the teaching experience," Kosta said.