Spring Break
EDITORIAL: Affirm plans to cancel USEM
UWS more important
Editorial | 11/18/08
Posted online at 2:31 AM EST on 11/18/08
The Undergraduate Curriculum Committee and the provost's Special Faculty Advisory Committee are considering dropping that first-year rite of passage, the University Seminar. In light of the University's thin budget, the SFAC is recommending the projected USEM cancellation to the faculty as a way to use funds more efficiently in the arts and sciences. Such a change will have to be ratified by the faculty at the monthly faculty meeting in early December. Canceling the USEM requirement and continuing the University Writing Seminar would be an excellent way to use faculty resources without causing detriment to students.
Cutting USEMs would free up over 50 class spots, all of which are taught by full-time faculty. In other words, with the cancellation of these 50 classes that are offered only to first-years and cannot be used toward distribution requirements or academic majors and minors, Brandeis professors would find themselves with the time and energy to collectively teach 50 additional classes in their own subject areas. This redistribution of faculty would cut back on costs without cutting back on the number of classes provided because it would allow professors to teach classes that are currently taught by visiting lecturers and other temporary hires.
Furthermore, since USEMs are assigned to students based on their general preferences but are not guaranteed to be a student's first choice, the students who end up in any given USEM may not be as dedicated to the subject matter as are students who choose to be in classes for their majors. It cannot be fun for a professor to teach a class on a specific topic that he finds fascinating to a first-year who may not be engaged in the topic at hand. A class of students who are interested in and dedicated to the information being presented makes a more positive experience for the professor as well as the students, because it provides an environment for more active discussion and more engagement with the subject matter.
Cutting USEMs would free up over 50 class spots, all of which are taught by full-time faculty. In other words, with the cancellation of these 50 classes that are offered only to first-years and cannot be used toward distribution requirements or academic majors and minors, Brandeis professors would find themselves with the time and energy to collectively teach 50 additional classes in their own subject areas. This redistribution of faculty would cut back on costs without cutting back on the number of classes provided because it would allow professors to teach classes that are currently taught by visiting lecturers and other temporary hires.
Furthermore, since USEMs are assigned to students based on their general preferences but are not guaranteed to be a student's first choice, the students who end up in any given USEM may not be as dedicated to the subject matter as are students who choose to be in classes for their majors. It cannot be fun for a professor to teach a class on a specific topic that he finds fascinating to a first-year who may not be engaged in the topic at hand. A class of students who are interested in and dedicated to the information being presented makes a more positive experience for the professor as well as the students, because it provides an environment for more active discussion and more engagement with the subject matter.
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