CUE Inaugurates Review Of Rules on Study Abroad

The Committee on Undergraduate Education (CUE) yesterday began a sweeping review of regulations governing study abroad, with many members recommending that CUE vote to transfer authority for approving courses of study abroad from academic departments to a new independent committee.

The committee will resume discussion on the regulations at its next session, after chairman Sidney Verba '53, associate dean of the Faculty for undergraduate education, confers with other adminstrators about alternative proposals.

But the panel will delay forwarding to the Faculty Council any recommendations it agrees upon until at least the spring, when it intends to propose a broad package of academic rule revisions. CUE has already suggested a ban on exams during reading period, except by special approval.

Under a broad proposal favored by several members at yesterday's session, the Faculty would establish a new committee to accredit foreign colleges' academic offerings. Undergraduates who opted study at one of those colleges probably would not need direct approval from Harvard.

Those seeking to study at non-accredited colleges would have to secure approval of their programs from either the independent review committee or from their department.

CUE will also consider abandoning current rules that require students who study abroad to take at least half of their courses in fields related to their department. Committee members differed after the session over whether CUE will formally support scrapping that requirement, but agreed to reach a decision at their next session.

Concentrations differ greatly in their leniency towards granting approval for programs of study abroad. Craig Partridge '83, a student member of CUE, said last night, adding that creating a committee to accredit foreign academic programs would allow students to select reasonable programs "without concentrations breathing down their necks.