CUE Plans Discussion Of Independent Work

The Committee on Undergraduate Education (CUE) will discuss next week alleged abuses of independent study at Harvard.

Faculty members have approved "frivolous" projects for independent work, Glen W. Bowersock, dean of the Faculty, said Tuesday.

Several CUE members said yesterday they feel the system is sometimes abused, but they all stressed that the program has many positive aspects.

"At an earlier meeting we were in some agreement that there were abuses. It was my feeling that something might be done," Steven Gold '81, a CUE member said yesterday.

Bowersock, who will appear before the CUE, said he did not have a proposal prepared for the committee, but was "thinking along the lines" of a review process for controversial independent study courses.

Under the current system, any faculty member can approve an independent study project. The approval of a course on football coach Joe Restic's multiflex offense by Evan Z. Vogt, master of Kirkland House, triggered some of the recent questions.

"I think the multiflex course is a fine example of what shouldn't be done," Bowersock said. "It is not what I would call an academic subject," he added.

Vogt refused to comment yesterday on the multiflex course, saying he "will have a statement in two or three weeks."

Bowersock also cited other examples of "fringe" courses for which students have received credit in past years. "We have had students taking flying lessions and learning ballroom dancing," he said.

CUE debated proposals to limit independent study last year but no action was taken. "We simply ran out of time last year," Jamie Henderson '80, a CUE member, said yesterday.

Bowersock said last year's proposal to limit the range of courses in the program was probably viewed as "too narrow" by some. A representative review panel, if proposed, "would be able to decide in controversial cases--if a representative group though the multiflex was a good course, then we could have it," Bowersock said.

The review panel "would act as kind of a braking mechanism," Bowersock said, adding he thought most of the projects were valuable. "Many students take music lessons," he said. "That used to be controversial but is now pretty well accepted," Bowersock added.

Henderson said any reforms would have to be carefully formulated to avoid "eliminating the valid courses."

"The students aren't to be blamed," Henderson said. "It's up to the faculty members to embarass each other into not approving invalid courses."

Henderson said he was "disappointed" with Vogt's approval of the multiflex project. He said the course "endangers the legitimate programs."

Lawrence Brown, the quarterback of last year's football team who teaches the multiflex course, was unavailable for comment yesterday.

Dean Rosovsky, who will speak to the Faculty next week about the independent study program, was also unavailable for comment yesterday