But Brockett and other faculty members downplay the level of dissatisfaction with the school, saying it is restricted to only a handful of professors.

"[The Summer School] has been around a long time. People recognize that, and it is generally favorably regarded," says Brendan A. Maher, dean of the Graduate School of Arts Sciences.

"The Summer School courses are regarded by the faculty as of the same caliber [as courses during the academic year]," Maher adds, refering to another commonly heard criticism of the Summer School--that its course offerings are less than rigorous.

Buck's report maintains that Summer School courses "are chosen with two criteria in mind: 'Do they satisfy Harvard's academic standards?' [and] `Do they meet demonstrable student interest?'"

More than the question of academic standards, it is the second point--meeting demonstrable student interest--that is a sticking point for some professors.

In defending the practice of closing under-enrolled courses, administrators note that only 10 percent of the Summer School's students are Harvard undergraduates. Courses are offered not to fill requirements, they say, but because students are interested in them.

Therefore, administrators say, if a sufficient number of students do not show interest in a course, it would use a disproportionate amount of FAS financial support to continue it.

"In the old days this used to be the third semester of Harvard College but now it's more like the third semester of the Extension School," Buck says, refering to the part of the University which offers night courses to area residents.

Buck adds that when Harvard undergraduates had to pay to take a fifth or sixth course, many students took classes for degree during the summer. During that time courses remained in the curriculum regardless of student interest.

When undergraduate attendance at the Summer School dropped in the 1970s, the program began a policy of open admissions. Anyone who applies--and who can pay the $975 fee for each course--may attend summer classes.

"What is interesting about this operation is that we take anyone who walks in and that we are in the business of showing that people who self-select to come here do very well in courses that are not different in their level of rigor from term-time courses," Buck says.

Each fall, Buck consults with the department chairs to plan summer courses for their disciplines. Because the courses can be taken for degree credit, they must be approved by the department heads and the Faculty Council. The official expectation is that the classes will be as difficult as Harvard's term-time offerings.

While many on the faculty say they are not certain that the Summer School courses are on par with term-time offerings, supporters of the Summer School say the radically different structure of the summer program makes comparison difficult.

"The Summer School is somewhat different. Some course are not so strenuous, but you can say the same thing about Harvard College," Shinagel says. "During the year you are taking four or five courses, so the summer--where students only take one or two courses--is not intensive."

And Maher, who has taught summer school courses, says "It may well be that if you looked at the mean grades, I had fewer A's during the summer than in the year. But that itself is evidence that the quality [of the course] was the same."

And George W. Goethals, senior lecturer on psychology, says, "The difference is that there is a far wider spread of talent. I've had classes at Summer School that are better than classes at any other part of Harvard."

"The stereotype that it is second-rate is something that I haven't experienced," Goethals adds.

The one complaint that professors teaching in the Summer School typically express about the courses is their brevity--summer session is slightly more than half a regular semester.

"Some of the classes are actually harder. It is difficult taking in the information in the lesser time," says Assistant Professor of Anthropology Terrence W. Deacon, who teaches a summer version of his popular Core course "Human Behavioral Biology."

"It is a different kind of atmosphere. In general, probably a little less of the information is communicated," Deacon says.