Freshman Seminar Changes Considered

The Faculty Council discussed a proposal to expand Freshman Seminar course offerings and allow those classes to count for concentration credit at its first meeting of the academic year yesterday.

According to Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education Jeffrey Wolcowitz, the ideas for change stem from Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles' efforts to increase the number of faculty and decrease class size.

"As Dean Knowles is thinking about expanding the size of the faculty, he is very concerned--and Dean Pedersen and I share the concern--that there be some tangible benefit for undergraduate education," Wolcowitz said.

Wolcowitz stressed that the ideas is still in the early discussion phase.

But Council member Jay M. Harris, Wolfson professor of Jewish studies, said that the proposal sounded promising.

"Anything that will be done to get students in closer contact with faculty and in smaller classes is a good thing," he said.

"Whether it is practical remains to be seen," Harris added.

In other business, the Council discussed proposed regulatory requirements from the federal government that threaten to dramatically change the oversight process which Harvard imposes on researchers in all fields.

The Public Health Service, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, which provides more than $11 billion in grants to institutions including Harvard, is creating new policies on "responsible conduct" for all research funded with the agency's support.

The regulations could force Harvard to engage in significantly greater oversight of research projects throughout the school.

The federal government could withhold grants if Harvard did not comply with its requirements.

The Council discussed possible responses to the proposed government policy change. Council members said they were concerned that the new regulations would be overly burdensome.

As yesterday's meeting was the first of the year, it also included a message from Knowles, who is the chair of the Council, discussing the Faculty's agenda for the year. Building on his message to the Faculty last year, Knowles emphasized Faculty growth as a goal.

Due to expired terms and faculty leaves of absence, 11 of this year's 18 members are new to the Council.