Two years ago, Fairfield’s College of Arts and Sciences faculty voted to change the normal five-course per semester student load to a four-course per semester model. Yet little has happened since then, and students should not start counting on extra hours.
The idea of shifting from five three-credit courses to four four-credit courses is certainly not unique to Fairfield; most comparable schools use such a system, according to faculty members who support the shift. But it seems that finding a working form of this curricular plan for this university is exceedingly difficult.
The possible shift in the future of Fairfield’s curriculum may seem quite attractive for students, but a drop from five to four courses per semester could actually mean more time spent with books rather than Budweiser.
The motivation behind the idea of decreasing the amount of courses necessary for graduation is not to allow more free time for students. The idea emphasizes the need for students to spend more time on the remaining four courses and to have a deeper understanding of topics rather than a basic understanding of a wide range of topics.
“The faculty would expect students to demonstrate greater depth of understanding and higher quality performance in each of the four courses than we currently expect from students with a five course load,” said Susan Rakowitz, a psychology professor.
Rakowitz headed the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee for the last two years. The committee has been in charge of further examination and research about the plan since the Arts and Sciences faculty supported it two years ago.
Despite the ability for students to delve more deeply into particular classes by not having to spread their time between five courses, some worry that a reduction in classes would create new problems for students.
“It’s far from a simple process if we want to maintain a strong core curriculum at the center of every student’s education,” Rakowitz said. “We need to balance pressures from various licensing bodies with regard to requirements of particular degrees.”
“We’d also have to rethink the possibilities for minors and additional majors with such a change,” she said.
If students take four courses per semester, they would have 32 at graduation, down from the current 40. It’s unclear whether there would be reductions in the core, in departmental majors, or in electives, though it is obvious that some courses will have to go.
“I think for people who don’t know what they want to do, cutting electives and core courses could really be a bad idea,” said Marisa Caban ’05.
Most plans call for keeping classes 150 minutes a week, even though students will get four credits instead of three.
Some professors feel Fairfield students already party too much and they are reluctant to cut one of the courses every semester. Some departments say that due to accreditation, they cannot reduce the current number of required courses.
Students are already testing the new idea and find that too much free time will not be an issue.
“I am taking four courses for four credits each this semester,” says Marco Ambrosio ’07. “It’s hard because they all demand so much for each class.”
And while the College of Arts and Sciences faculty approved it, it’s unclear whether the proposed change would be supported by the Schools of Business, Nursing and Engineering.
In his inaugural address, President Jeffrey von Arx, S.J. challenged teachers to re-evaluate how they are teaching their courses with concern to breadth and depth, the key issues surrounding the proposed shift from five courses to four.
He challenged teachers to help students make connections between methods being taught in class and how these ways of thinking apply to everyday life in order to get the most out of their core classes.
Von Arx was travelling in Italy this week and was unavailable for comment. He plans to discuss his views at a November meeting of the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee.
The new president’s vision will be key to the success of any progression with the new plan, according to Academic Vice President Orin Grossman.
“My feeling is that this call from the president should be the most important academic matter for us,” Grossman said. “Any consideration of moving to a four course load needs to start from the president’s vision and sense of Jesuit mission.”
Grossman said he is open to such a change.
Some students agree that the plan sounds like a good idea.
“I like it,” said Michael Bond ’05. “It enables professors to teach an entire course instead of having them run out of time.”
Leave a Reply