In fact, she notes, this year’s most popular course, Gov. S-40: “An Introduction to International Relations,” is taught by João Resende-Santos, who earned a Ph.D from Harvard and is now a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania.

“We only recruit faculty who live up to the Harvard standard,” says Boyland.

In fact, administrators say, they strive to achieve a certain degree of parity between summer school and the regular Harvard curriculum since so many Harvard undergraduates enroll in summer classes to fulfill academic requirements.

According to Dean of Summer School Students Christopher S. Queen, “most of the courses offered in the summer are equivalent to courses offered during the year.”

Queen, who is officially in charge of registering complaints, says that summer school students are generally pleased with what they get.

“Summer school students are very happy with what they’re doing because without an admission process they are able to take Harvard courses and study with the distinguished Harvard faculty,” he says.

The school’s own surveys back up Queen’s statements. Each year the summer school conducts polls—similar to the CUE Guide course evaluations done during the regular term—in which students are asked to rate their instructors and their classes on a scale of one to five.