Concentrations To Be Examined

The Faculty Council Wednesday examined an Educational Policy Committee (EPC) proposal to launch a revaluation Harvard's undergraduate concentrations which could result in dramatic changes in the curriculum, officials said.

The 10-page first draft, which EPC members said is only a preliminary document, presents a series of questions and concerns about how concentrations are structured and administered.

The document discusses the progression from introductory courses to more advanced courses and the process of curricular planning in the concentrations, said Ford Professor of the Social Sciences David Pilbeam.

He added that the issue of small-group versus larger classes was discussed as well.

The tutorial system is also addressed in the draft, Pilbeam said, as well as the concentrations' advising system.

Finally, the document explores the role of a 'capstone' experience such as a thesis or general examination in the concentrations, Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles said.

Knowles stressed, however, the preliminary nature of the document and said his present aim is only to initiate departmental discussion on the issue of concentration curriculums. No Faculty-wide suggestions are made in the document, he said.

"I don't want to upset them [departments] by homog- enizing them," he said.

Knowles said he hopes to "generate within each department an interest and a concern in examining the nature of the concentration."

Assistant Professor of the Classics Cynthia E. Damon said some Faculty Council members raised questions about the expense of any changes that might be made to the current structure of concentrations. In general, the draft was received positively, Damon said.

"I think the document will stimulate good discussion in every department," she said. "It will not be equally implemented in every department--it allows for departmental differences."

Knowles said the preliminary draft will be refined and discussed, and he said next fall all departmental faculty will receive a copy of the document. A form of the document could eventually be discussed at a full Faculty meeting as well, Knowles said.

The final effect of the process could be extensive, he said.

"This is not a revolution, it is an evolution," Knowles said. "I do want every department to examine itself and ask whether we are doing the best we can with the resources we have."

Such a comprehensive reexamination of the undergraduate curriculum has not occurred for more than 15 years, Knowles said, since the report that spurred the creation of the Core Curriculum in 1978

Knowles said he hopes to "generate within each department an interest and a concern in examining the nature of the concentration."

Assistant Professor of the Classics Cynthia E. Damon said some Faculty Council members raised questions about the expense of any changes that might be made to the current structure of concentrations. In general, the draft was received positively, Damon said.

"I think the document will stimulate good discussion in every department," she said. "It will not be equally implemented in every department--it allows for departmental differences."

Knowles said the preliminary draft will be refined and discussed, and he said next fall all departmental faculty will receive a copy of the document. A form of the document could eventually be discussed at a full Faculty meeting as well, Knowles said.

The final effect of the process could be extensive, he said.

"This is not a revolution, it is an evolution," Knowles said. "I do want every department to examine itself and ask whether we are doing the best we can with the resources we have."

Such a comprehensive reexamination of the undergraduate curriculum has not occurred for more than 15 years, Knowles said, since the report that spurred the creation of the Core Curriculum in 1978