Magic and mysticism. Angels and demons. It's hard to find a dull moment in Mika Ahuvia's syllabus. The assistant professor of Jewish Studies teaches a class called Heroes, Heretics, and Radicals: The Beginnings of Judaism and Christianity.

The school year doesn’t start until the end of September, but class is already in session for Anthony Gill. For the past five years, the political science professor has taught in the Early Fall Start program, which lets incoming freshmen earn five credits before their first quarter. Gill's course is called Introduction to Political Economy. "We teach basic economic reasoning for political scientists," he said. "And we play a lot of games and have a lot of fun doing it."