The NIU campus tends to empty out during the summer, but some students find it enjoyable to stay in DeKalb.

“More than 90 percent of undergraduates enrolled in summer school” were juniors or seniors during the 1989 Summer semester, said Nicholas Noe, NIU Institutional Research director.

There were 4,240 undergraduates and 6,089 graduates who took summer classes in 1989, Noe said.

Karen Schettino, a senior accounting major, said she enjoyed taking summer classes partially because of the relaxed atmosphere of the campus.

It is “easier to concentrate” on classes, because the term is shorter, so she does not loose interest in the topic and there are fewer classes to study for, she said. Schettino has taken a total of nine credit hours in two NIU summer semesters.

Noe said undergraduates took an average of 5.5 credit hours in the summer of 1989, on-campus graduates had an average of 4.5 and off-campus graduates took an average of 3.9 hours during the summer of 1989.

Sue Stein, an NIU junior communications major, said she will be taking summer school for the first time this summer, and is “hoping it’s going to be a little more relaxed atmosphere.”

Stein said she plans to take two or three necessary classes. However, having classes concentrated into a short amount of time and working on weekends might make studying difficult, she said.

The 1990 summer semester will last from June 18 to Aug. 10. Registration for the summer semester ends May 4.

Schettino said class sizes are smaller in the summer and teachers seemed more relaxed.

Donald Larson, associate director of Registration and Records said there are about 1,570 class sections offered this summer, compared with about 5,450 sections being offered in the fall 1990 semester.

DeKalb is far less crowded during the summer, making it seem more like a hometown, Schettino said.