Other Harvard Ad Boards Accept Student Input

Harvard's various schools differ widely in mission and teaching style, but the organizations employed by Harvard's many schools to handle disciplinary matters and administrative petitions are not all that different.

Whether called an Administrative Board or an Academic Societies Promotion and Review Board, these committees deal mainly with ensuring that students' behavior, both academic and social, matches that expected of a Harvard student.

But there are several crucial differences across Harvard's nine schools. For example, the College does not allow students to sit on its ad board out of fear that students will not be as objective as the faculty members.

Harvard Law School (HLS), however, sees things differently. Three of the seven voting members of the board are students--and they hear all cases involving their peers.

In addition, HLS, unlike the College, allows students to bring lawyers to argue their cases before the ad board.

Over the years, the College ad board has faced stiff criticism from both students and faculty for not giving students an adequate voice in the decision-making process. Some have urged the College to mend its current system, specifically by making the process more democratic and allowing students to sit on the board.

Perhaps, some have suggested, the College might take a look across the Yard at how things are done at the University's other institutions, and especially at HLS.

Among Peers?

It is the College's policy that no students be allowed to sit on its ad board.

Dean of the College and Chair of the Administrative Board Harry R. Lewis '68 wrote in an e-mail message that he feels the board was founded to administer the rules of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and, therefore, it is the job of faculty members, not students, to serve on the Board.

"I think the board is fair in its actions, and I don't have any reason to think that the board's decisions would be fairer with student members," he wrote.

The College is not the only Harvard school that prevents students from participating in its administrative and disciplinary body. Harvard Medical School has two such organizations, the Academic Societies Promotion and Review Board and the Standing Committee on Rights and Responsibilities, neither of which has any student members.

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences allows four student representatives to serve on its Ad Board, but these students are only given a voice in matters of appeals of financial aid and teaching fellow appointment decisions.

HLS, on the other hand, selects three students--one from each class--to serve on its administrative board. Each student serves on the board for three years.

The Law School Council, HLS's student council, places advertisements around campus that make students aware of the opportunity to apply for a seat on the board. Those interested in the position send their applications to the council, which in turn selects three candidates to recommend to the board.

A small subcommittee of the board then reviews their applications and interviews the candidates. After this process is complete, they suggest one student to the Dean of the Law School, who makes the final appointment.

Law School Dean of Students Suzanne Richardson, who is a non-voting member of the board, speaks very highly of the job done by the student representatives with whom she has worked.

"I have the highest respect for the students that serve on our Ad Board. They are always very professional," she says.

Lewis says that he has heard from colleagues that students on committees are sometimes less inclined to see the need for change than faculty members.

And, he adds, "Indeed, the impression I get from colleagues elsewhere is that committees with students tend act in a more black-or-white way--more reluctant to sustain a charge at all, and then more inclined to respond harshly."

In addition, Lewis says, it would be difficult for students to serve on the College ad board because of the confidentiality issues they would face.

"The confidentiality of our process would make it tough for a student member, who would doubtless feel that he or she was 'representing' students and yet could not talk about the actual cases being heard. I think there would be pressure and conflict in such a role," he wrote.

Barbara Grayson, the third-year student who serves on the Law School's ad board, does not see the situation in the same light. She says she feels the confidentiality of the cases she hears makes it easier for her to be a student representative.

She says, "Because the cases are confidential, we don't get much outside attention or pressure from other students."

In fact, Grayson feels that student input on the board contributes to making it a more effective institution. "The decisions that we make have the potential to affect all students, and it helps to have access to a student perspective," she says.

While there is one disciplinary board at the College that does include students, it has little effect on campus decisions. In 1986, the Student-Faculty Judicial Board was founded to hear unprecedented cases and those with extreme implications for the Harvard community. Six of this committee's 12 full-time members are students.

But the Judicial Board plays quite an insignificant role in the administration of Harvard affairs--to date, it has heard only one case, and it is unclear when or under what circumstances the board would be called together again.

Who You Gonna Call?

In most instances, a student called before the ad board of the College is represented by his Assistant Dean of Freshmen or his Allston Burr Senior Tutor. The student can choose to be present as well.

If students want different representation, they can choose between the dean of freshmen, the secretary of the ad board, the director of the Core program, or any assistant or associate dean of the College who is a regular board member. The student cannot, however, choose to be represented by a lawyer.

HLS does not impose such a restriction on its students. According to Grayson, students "frequently" seek legal counsel.

Everyday Matters

While the ad board is most well-known for its disciplinary cases, most of the cases it hears are actually administrative in nature.

Indeed, during the 1999-2000 academic year, only 136 out of 2,793 cases were disciplinary matters.

According to Richardson, HLS's ad board functions very similarly. "Over 80 percent of the work we do involves waivers to regular school rules of policy," she says.

And the same seems to be true of the other schools at Harvard as well. Most of these administrative and disciplinary organizations function primarily to monitor the academic performance of the school's students.

The College's ad board has two subcommittees. One, called the Executive Committee, handles petitions that are too clear-cut to require deliberations by the entire board. This group is chaired by the Registrar and handles such issues as the granting of leaves of absence, advanced standing, and make-up exams.

The other subcommittee of the ad board was designed to deal solely with cases of computer misuse.

All other incidents are adjudicated by the board when it meets in full every Tuesday during the term. The HLS ad board only meets once a month.

While the College ad board has its critics and, according to Lewis, is constantly considering ways to improve, perhaps it is the sheer number of cases that makes change happen slowly, if at all. After all, administering discipline for more than 6,000 students is a weighty and daunting task.

Lewis describes the ad board and its current system, saying, "No system is perfect, and we are constantly making small adjustments in the way things are done. But given the volume of what the Board does, the process is both effective and efficient."

-Staff writer Kate L. Rakoczy can be reached at rakoczy@fas.harvard.edu.