Back to the Drawing Board

After watching their proposals for tutorial reform finally emerge in watered-down form from the Faculty ratification process, the Committee on Undergraduate Education (CUE) took a deep breath last week and settled down to work on improving teaching in sections.

CUE will go no further than Tuesday's preliminary discussion with the issue this year, although Glen W. Bowersock '57, associate dean of the Faculty for undergraduate education, promised to keep the committee's comments in mind this summer when he works on developing new Core courses.

Members will draft proposals for change in sections next fall, and the reforms are likely to include increased supervision of sections by course heads.

Other suggestions for change include increased use of videotape equipment to improve section teaching, mandating that professors visit each section once a semester, and performing more extensive evaluations of the work of section teachers.

"I expect little resistance from professors" to changes in section policy, Bowersock told the committee; and he may be right. Increased time commitments for professors would be small, especially compared with the recently-passed compared with the recently-passed tutorial reform plan.

Another boost for the chances of meaningful section reform is that it may not require Faculty ratification. Bowersock plans for CUE to send its suggestions for change straight to the Faculty Council, which would have the final say.

Other committee members added that they hope to effect more basic changes. "We've got to institutionalize the atmosphere that people are here to teach undergraduates," Photo, Anagnostopoulos 81 said.