When President Reagan launched an air strike on Libya last April few could have predicted it would create an overcrowding problem at Harvard Summer School.

But fears about terrorism overseas, coupled with a low US dollar exchange rate and increased interest in the University's English as a Second Language program, have inflated student enrollment, forcing officials to scramble for additional housing space.

Approximately 5200 high school, undergraduate and graduate students, an increase of more than 100 over last year, are expected to register Sunday and Monday for the 111th annual Summer School session. About half of the students are requesting on-campus living accomodations.

"The total number of students is higher than in the whole history of the Summer School," says Katherine G. Galaitsis, associate dean for resources. "What we have right now is a situation where every bed is assigned."

To alleviate the housing crunch, the Summer School has already taken over the top floors of the River houses and all of Claverly Hall, both of which they had not planned to do. The top floors are usually very hot and uncomfortable in the summertime, so the School has not used them in the past. Some students may also not receive singles.

While all secondary school students are guaranteed housing, mostly because the University anticipated an increase among this group, Harvard officials say they are still unable to provide on-campus rooms for 30 undergraduates. The School has told these 30 students to find temporary quarters until they can be placed. Further student housing requests will receive the same response.

Braced for Complaints

Administrators admit they were slow to realize that the number of undergraduate Summer School applicants would be higher than ever. They say they are "braced for complaints" from disgruntled undergraduates.

"We can't pack students in as liberally as the College can. We don't have a degree to offer," says Marshall R. Pihl '55, director of the Summer School. "People from outside are not as forgiving."

Each dormitory resident shells out $965 for room and board for the eight week session. The University does not plan to reduce fees for students placed in common rooms. Nor will it pay the temporary housing costs for the 30 students.

High school students will live in the Yard dorms, while older students, of which about 10 percent are currently Harvard undergraduates, will occupy Adams, Dunster, Eliot, Kirkland, Leverett and Mather Houses.

More Foreigners

Of the more than 5200 students, representing 80 nations, approximately 400 will enroll in Harvard's English as a Second Language program. This is an increase of about 130 over previous years.

Among the innovative electives offered to the non-English speaking students are jazz chants, captioned rock videos and computer-assisted language learning. Nearly all of these people are preparing for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), a prerequisite for admissions at universities in the United States.

Approximately 900 high school students, who met selective guidelines for admission--SAT scores above 1200 and a B average--must enroll in two courses.

"It's got to be full time. This is not a summer camp," says Pihl. "There are absolutely the same standards [for students in the secondary program and undergraduates]. No distinction is made. No distinction has to be made."

Both high school and undergraduate students receive more support from their proctors than Harvard undergraduates do during the rest of the year, Pihl says. With about 20 students per secondary school proctor and 25 per upperclass proctor, the student advisors are able to help their charges deal with "a pace of life that can be overwhelming," he explains.

All students can choose from among 250 courses, ranging from "Econmetric Modeling and Business Forecasting" to "The Evolution of Modern jazz Through Jazz Rock and Fusion." In addition, the Summer School offers a special six-week dance program, an eight-week Ukranian culture institute and the Health Professions Program, a program for minority and disadvantaged students.

"The purpose of the Summer School is to meet the needs of outside students by drawing on the resources of the University," says Pihl, the School's director since 1981. "We are not dictating a combination of courses that result in a degree. Rather, our curriculum reflects our aggregate needs."

The Summer School curriculum places more emphasis on "the more practical, applied and worthy" in the summer than during the regular school year, explains Pihl. Economics, for example, is much more quantitative in the summer.

Quality Control

Pihl says the quality of courses offered at the Summer School, which cost $685 per credit, is comparable to those during the rest of the year. Summer School officials must clear each course offering with the appropriate department chairmen.

"If they [the chairmen] think what they are teaching is the kind of course that belongs at Harvard, they give their approval," he says. "They wouldn't let us teach something below their standards."

Most of the Summer School's professors are affiliated with Harvard. Sixty percent of the faculty are Harvard professors and half of the remaining visiting professors have received their degrees from the University.

"Basically, it's a Harvard education," says Pihl.

But Harvard's Summer School is run independently from the rest of the college, and unlike other university summer sessions, is not a third term. "Summertime is when Harvard goes to the mountains," Pihl says. "We are the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for 56 days."

Many secondary students have traditionally been attracted to Harvard's Summer School believing that a good performance would translate into admittance to the College. Despite the fact that 330 of Harvard's current 6000 undergraduates did attend the Summer School. Pihl downplays the connection. "We tell them it is not a back road way," says Pihl, adding, though, that "it doesn't hurt" if you perform well.