| Senate passes recommendations to maintain
quality of By Sarah R. Buchholz, Chronicle staff
The guidelines were based on work completed by last year's Ad Hoc Committee on Undergraduate Education, as well as "the core values deliberated and agreed upon" in the committee's successor, the new Undergraduate Education Council, which provided the senate with the material on which to vote, and a study of the campus and relevant national issues. The plan is also with an eye toward farther-reaching goals that would direct the campus toward an environment "in which all students would receive the best possible education." "The Undergraduate Education Council unanimously agrees that the most valuable asset to the undergraduate academic experience is the campus's highly qualified and nationally recognized faculty," the report reads. "The University's first priority with regard to undergraduate education should be the protection and renewal of our quality faculty and academic staff." The report prioritizes the protection of two aspects of undergraduate education on campus: those that are crucial to student engagement and success and those in which the University already "exhibits particular distinction" relative to other doctoral schools. Among such aspects are honors programming; emphasis on writing in undergraduate courses; learning communities for first-year students, and the experience of national and international diversity for both students and faculty. The council recommended that five other elements of high-quality undergraduate education be attended to as soon as funding and resources can be restored. They are the quality of advising, especially for first-year students; student use of computing and information technology; teaching development programs; the quality of classroom and lab space, and support for student-faculty interaction, particularly in large classes. |
