Faculty Group Reviews Weaknesses in Tutorial

Six areas in the tutorial program are under the scrutiny of a special Sub-committee on Educational Policy, it was learned yesterday. These include the relations between House and department tutors, grades in tutorial, and the 30 percent of the undergraduates not under the program.

This fact-finding group, made up of Allston Burr Senior Tutors and Department head tutors, is headed by Dean McGeorge Bundy. It has met informally during the fall and drawn up this broad list. So far the committee has made no positive recommendations.

The other three areas under consideration are the development of inter-field tutorial, an impartial method for judging the quality of tutors, and some system of equalizing House tutorial strength.

Science Tutorial

At present, tutorial covers majors in History, Economics, Government, English, and Social Relations. Although Science majors work closely with laboratory assistants, most lack the close contact with House staff members, which a form of science tutorial would provide.

Also under committee discussion are methods to strengthen House tutorial, without cutting into departmental jurisdiction. Any such shifting of power and responsibility involves broad problems of administrative and education policy.

Under the present arrangement, work in tutorial receives no formal grade other than the tutors' recommendation of honors, pass or fail. In view of tutorial's growing importance in the curriculum, the committee is reviewing whether a need exists for a more definite scale of accomplishment.

House Tutorial Strength

Several Houses have experimented with programs of cross-tutorial and the committee is considering whether to put them on a broader and more permanent basis.

On the faculty level, the group is discussing ways of judging the work done by individual tutors. A ticklish problem, this involves careful analysis of each tutor's record.

The final point under general discussion is the relative tutorial strengths of different Houses. Some dominate a field while others are relatively weak. The committee hopes it can find a formula for clearing up these discrepancies.