Freshman Seminars for All

Last week, at the behest of Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles, the Faculty Council discussed expanding the freshman seminar program and allowing seminars to count for concentration credit. We recommend an aggressive expansion of the program, and the acceptance of these reforms would be a welcome first step.

All first-years should have the opportunity to take a seminar. In the disorienting world of large-lecture introductory courses and intimidating Cores, first-years often have little or no interaction with any of their professors. Crowded lectures in Sanders Theatre and the Science Center tend to be the rule, with the one exception being the expository writing courses.

In contrast, seminars foster an environment conducive to student-faculty relationships, not only because of their small size, but also because of their focus on discussion. The pass/fail grading scheme gives students the freedom to focus entirely on learning and experimenting within the subject. In short, seminars are a refreshing alternative to the usual first-year fare.

However, the current freshman seminar system has a few problems. First, the University should not be exposing well-intentioned students to such a painful competition over courses. Not only is the application procedure for seminars quite taxing--requiring a written application and an interview--but academic rejection at such an early point, coming so soon after the college application process itself, can be a traumatic experience during an already stressful period. The solution is to create more seminars, eventually giving all first-years the option to enroll in a seminar if they so desire.

In addition to expanding the number of seminars offered, the University should allow students to count them for departmental credit. Freshman seminars, like tutorials, offer an intense exploration of issues presumably germane to the studies of at least one department. Seminars should therefore be accepted for departmental credit, either within a naturally related concentration or for one of the Core requirements. Accepting seminars for credit should accompany an expansion of the number of students who can take them; for example, first-years who accept advanced standing should have the option, which they currently lack, to take a seminar during spring term.

Although we feel strongly that every first-year would benefit from the experience of a freshman seminar, we do not recommend making the seminar a requirement. With the already heavy burden of the Core, the foreign language requirement, and Expository Writing, the extra imposition provided by a seminar requirement would make a tight first-year schedule increasingly inflexible.

These reforms would be consistent with the University's goal of reducing class size and increasing student-faculty interaction. An expanded freshman seminar program would greatly benefit both students and the University as a whole, and we encourage the Faculty Council to make the necessary reforms.