A lack of classes and student interest has saved the English department the cost of printing summer permits.

Because student interest was lacking last summer and only about five English undergraduate and graduate classes will be offered, permits will not be given to students this summer, said Undergraduate Director Charles Pennel.

Classes will be given to students based on their majors and minors and their year in school.

The English Department does not feel it is necessary to print the permits. “We don’t want to do anything unless it will help the students,” he said. “The costs used to print the permits will be used (in other ways) for the students.”

Although the number of summer classes is not definite, fewer classes have been offered each summer. This makes it difficult for students majoring or minoring in English to get the classes they need, Pennel said.

“We offer so little and there is nothing we can count on,” he said. “This is very hard on our students. Some may find it difficult to graduate.”

With the budget cut slashing money, getting the funds for summer classes will have to be played by ear, Pennel said.

“There is no real budget for summer school. We never know what the budget will be,” he said.

English Department Chairman James Miller said he was not aware of the decision to eliminate summer permits. However, he said, the lack of funds and classes will make it difficult for students minoring in English to get the classes they need.

“We are not being provided funds to serve all of our minors,” Miller said.

English Department Secretary Joyce Macdonald said this is the first time summer permits will not be given. “Last summer they (permits) did not seem necessary,” she said.

However, she said, permits will be given for fall classes next year.

She said the budget recision has played a major role in the lack of funds in the English Department. “The budget has definitely affected everything,” she said.

NIU junior Patrick King, an English major, said he will be taking summer classes this year, and he believes the new system will help students get the classes they need to graduate.

“I think it’s a good idea,” King said.

However, junior Amy Grenier, an English education major, said she believes the English department needs to straighten up more than just its permits.

“They’ve got tons of people taking classes,” Grenier said. “They don’t offer enough courses.”

She said she has had a lot of trouble getting the classes she needs, and she knows seniors with the same problem. “I don’t really like the system of the English department at NIU,” she said.

Grenier said she will be taking summer classes, and she hopes the new system will make it easier for her to get into the classes she needs.