Summertime--and the Learning May Get Easier

Something’s got to give if colleges are to make room for the bumper crop of students expected to show up in coming years.

A top contender for sacrifice: the summer-long break.

California’s public colleges and universities are thinking about year-round operations, following the example of crowded elementary and high schools.

Chancellor Charles B. Reed sees that as the best way to accommodate the incoming horde at the 22 California State University campuses. University of California officials are also talking about the concept.

The idea has suddenly gained momentum in Sacramento. Gov. Gray Davis’ budget calls for greater use of classrooms at night, on weekends and over the summer.

And the Legislature is considering a bill to provide subsidies for summer school classes, as it does for fall and winter terms. If approved, the measure would end a peculiar situation at most Cal State and UC campuses: A summer school class costs up to twice as much as it would during the regular academic year.

The bill’s author, Assemblyman George Runner Jr. (R-Lancaster), also JLWsays changes are needed in state grants, scholarships and the types of courses offered during the summer--all to encourage more year-round participation.

So, if he’s successful, will he be pilloried as the man who robbed students of their cherished summer break?

“I would like to be remembered,” he said, “as the man who made it possible for them to graduate in three years.”