Spring Break
Optional seminar to replace USEM
by Jillian Wagner
News Editor
News | 12/9/08
Posted online at 2:26 AM EST on 12/9/08
The majority of faculty present at the Dec. 4 faculty meeting voted in favor of passing the University Curriculum Committee's proposal to terminate the University Seminar program, which will be replaced with an optional First-year Seminar program in order to lessen the burden of the budget crisis. However, the faculty have not yet reached a decision regarding expanding the Thanksgiving break to include the Wednesday before the holiday.
The majority of faculty present also voted in favor of the motion to waive the second reading of the USEM proposal, despite expressing several questions about the changes in the USEM program, such as how the first-year seminars would be offered to make them desirable to incoming students and whether these changes would have ever been made regardless of budget constraints.
Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe said that the budget crisis acted as the catalyst for the changes made to the first-year seminar experience.
"It's not like before the budget crisis came along everybody thought USEM was just perfect and had no concerns about it; there were issues. But I think it's also true that had it not been for the budget crisis, those issues probably would not have led to a movement to change the program," he said.
Jaffe said that a number of other colleges have first-year seminar programs optional and that it is considered "an elite opportunity that students compete to get into." He said this would be an ideal situation for the program at Brandeis, but the transition from a system in which the seminar is required to a system in which it is a privilege would be difficult.
"I think one of the ways you do that is [by making students] feel like it is a privilege and not a burden," Jaffe said. Faculty at the meeting suggested that students be required to apply to the seminar rather than just register for it.
Jaffe explained that it will be up to the discretion of individual departments to designate which First-year Seminars will count toward degree requirements within their departments. He said that about 20 seminars will be offered, as opposed to the 50 that are currently offered.
The majority of faculty present also voted in favor of the motion to waive the second reading of the USEM proposal, despite expressing several questions about the changes in the USEM program, such as how the first-year seminars would be offered to make them desirable to incoming students and whether these changes would have ever been made regardless of budget constraints.
Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe said that the budget crisis acted as the catalyst for the changes made to the first-year seminar experience.
"It's not like before the budget crisis came along everybody thought USEM was just perfect and had no concerns about it; there were issues. But I think it's also true that had it not been for the budget crisis, those issues probably would not have led to a movement to change the program," he said.
Jaffe said that a number of other colleges have first-year seminar programs optional and that it is considered "an elite opportunity that students compete to get into." He said this would be an ideal situation for the program at Brandeis, but the transition from a system in which the seminar is required to a system in which it is a privilege would be difficult.
"I think one of the ways you do that is [by making students] feel like it is a privilege and not a burden," Jaffe said. Faculty at the meeting suggested that students be required to apply to the seminar rather than just register for it.
Jaffe explained that it will be up to the discretion of individual departments to designate which First-year Seminars will count toward degree requirements within their departments. He said that about 20 seminars will be offered, as opposed to the 50 that are currently offered.
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