TUESDAY, AUGUST 29, 1967 THE MICHIGAN DAILY VAfM.'IVM.V.9' TUESDAY, AUGUST ~9, 1967 THE MICHIGAN DAILY panr '~unu'v ravesJ j i~r 0 LSA Faculty Tests Academic Innovations By PAT O'DONOHUE A new concern with the future and direction of higher education seems to have taken hold of a once indifferent literary college faculty. Professors and instructors with- in the college have spent many long hours in the last year out- side their classroooms and labor- atories hammering out innovative changes in a wide range of aca- demic'areas-curriculum, grading, and degree requirements. The year began with the Cur- fail basis. The course cannot be riculum Committee of the literary part of the student's major con- college recommending to the col- centration and cannot be a course lege's faculty senate a "pass-fail" for distribution requirements. grading system for upperclassmen, A student who agrees to take a and a new degree program called course on this basis will receive Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Stu- a "satisfactory" (pass for credit) dies. mark on his record for a grade The pass-fail program, which of C or above. A grade below C has also been introduced at sev- will be entered as "unsatisfactory" eral other universities, allows (fail, no credit). Professors will Juniors and seniors to elect one not be told who is taking their course per semester on the pass- course on this basis. The student will receive credit towards grad- uation for a pass-fail course but will not receive honor points. .w:The student who wishes to take a pass-fail course must decide which course he wishes to take on this basis within two weeks after :.registration. The pass-fail program gives the student an opportunity to elect a course in which he is interested without fear of receiving a grade which might be detrimental to his overall gradepoint average. For example, a history major interest- ed in music literature could elect that subject unconcerned about getting a C in the class since it would not count toward his honor point average. The new degree program is call- ed Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies. It goes into effect this fall semester, and will be open to incoming freshmen only. The literary college's Curriculum Committee, which formally rec- ommended the program, will monitor its operation and report its findings to the faculty, to- gether with further recommen- dations, by January, 1971. A student must fulfill certain basic requirements (eight hours of Great Books, and eight hours of introductory history, as well as basic University requirements) as prerequisites for the program. In his last 54 hours, as a junior and senior, the student must take 18 hours in two different distribu- tion areas such as humanities, so- cial sciences, natural sciences, and languages. The last 18 hours must be divided equally between the third and fourth distribution areas. Eight to 10 of these hours must be in a single department, and eight hours in the last two years must be elected in the natural sciences. A student who wishes to receive a Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Stu- dies must, upon becoming a sec- ond-semester sophomore, draw up a program of study in which he specifies the types of courses he will elect in order to satisfy the area and group requirements and the "underlying theme. .. which provides a unifying element in these elections." willing to serve as his faculty ad- visor. The student must then sub- mi. his program of study, bearing the advisor's endorsement, to the Committee on Interdisciplinary Studies, which will decide upon the acceptability of the program of study. All subsequent course elections are subject to the ap- proval of this committee. The members of this committee will be appointed by the dean of the literary college and will con- sist of one faculty member who teaches in the social sciences, one in the natural sciences, one in the humanities and one member of the Curriculum Committee. The intent of the program is to free the student from the tight restrictions of a concentration program and allow him to dabble in a number of different fields. It is aimed at those students seeking a liberal education without wish- With these accomplishments be- hind them, the literary college is considering further innovations for the future. One policy presently under study is the trimester system, in- stituted only four years ago. A recent report of the Calendar Committee indicated that while many faculty members and stu- dents favored retention of the tri- mester system, certain adaptations should be made. These changes included the rec- ommendations that the reading period before final exams be lengthened, that no early final exams be given, that the vacation period during the winter semester be lengthened and that teachers adapt their courses and reading lists to the time alloted under the trimester system. There are pres- ently only two free days between the end of classes and the begin- ning of finals. The executive committee of the literary college postponed any definitive action on these recom- Imendations and instead last spring issued a questionaire to the col- lege's faculty, to determine senti- nent on the trimester over the semester system. The majority of the college's faculty has indicated that they favor a return to the semster system with three-fourths of the returns in. Numerous proposals of the Cur- riculum Committee of the literary college are waiting for the results of the questionaire and the exe- cutive committee's response before they can be voted on. These pro- posals include the establishment of a "concentration-at-large" pro- gram which would allow students to take an interdepartmental major and the allottment of four credit-hours to all courses taken by a University student. He would then find a faculty ing to do specialized work in a member who is both capable and particular area. REDUCE HOURS NEEDED TO GRADUATE: Engineers Revamp Course Requirements By MARCY ABRAMSON Sweeping changes in course re- quirements approved by the Col- lege of Engineering will increase emphasis on the humanities and social sciences, as well as allow students to complete degrees in eight terms instead of the present eight and a half to nine. Fresh- man entrance requirements have also been raised to include more non-technical courses. The course changes are sched- uled to first affect the freshman class of 1968-69, according to J. G. Eisley, professor of aeronauti- cal engineering and chairman of ,he Core Studies Committee of the "ollege of Engineering. The new entrance requirements will become effective in 1972. Specific details will be worked out during the ;oming year within the engineer- ing school. Proposed new classes include aI Great Books sequence which willr replace traditional composition courses. The overall engineering1 requirement in English, humani- ties and social sciences will bet raised to an absolute minimum ofF 24 hours and a suggested mini-r mum of 28 hours. Courses in ad-i vanced English and English lit-c erature are part of the recom-t nended curricula.I An Academic Facelifting for Angell Hall AAUP Works To Maintain Facu Freedom of Dissent at Nation's Ilty Tenure, By AVIVA KEMPNER The American Association of University Professors (AAUP), on both the national and local levels, is concerned with the vital tasks of maintaining the academic free- dom and protecting the rights of tenure of the nation's college pro- fessors and instructors. Academic freedom is a necessary precondition for the fostering of new ideas in a university commu- nity. It guarantees the right of each professor to express his per- sonal beliefs on any subject, no matter how controversial, without fear of reprisals. The most com- mon deterrent a professor faces in voicing unpopular ideas is the loss of his job. Any infringements on these precious liberties sends the national chapter of the AAUP into immediate action. No Legal Powers Although the AAUP has no legal powers to take action, it can exert considerable national influence in the form of censure motions against member institutions. If a professor feels that his rights have been violated by the institution where he is teaching he may con- tact the national AAUP organ- ization for help. Then, a thorough investigation into the merits of the charge is usually conducted. The investigation involves inter- viewing and questioning both- ad- ministrators and faculty members. If the investigators consider the complaint justified they will in- form the institution in question. If the institution takes no reme- dial action in response to the com- 'mittee's findings it usually is placed on the AAUP censure list. AAUP members are advised not to accept positions offered to them by the censured institutions, until the objections in question are al- leviated. 1954 Dismissals The University was censured for the dismissal of two professors in 1954 who refused to answer ques- tions posed by the House Un- American Activities Committee. It was also placed on the AAUP cen- sure list from 1955-59 because the AAUP felt that a number of the Regents By-laws violated the rights of faculty members. The AAUP has chapters at al- most all of the nation's institu- tions of higher learning. In Mich- igan 30 colleges and universities and over 500 University professors make up the state and local chap- ters. The national chapter publishes a monthly journal for its mem- bers. In the January issue the na-' tional organization took up , the subject of student and faculty roles in university decision-making. The national chapter also pre- pares an annual survey of faculty salaries, which serves as a yard- stick for ranking the relative standings of nation-wide univer- sity salaries. A big issue currently confronting the AAUP is a drive by the AFL- CIO to unionize professors and in- structors across the country. In the past the AAUP has refused to endorse the strike action taken by the faculty of St. John's Uni- versity in New York. Although the national convention recognized the faculty grievances as valid, the members decided that striking was not a suitable protest method for teachers to use. The Ann Arbor, chapter of the AAUP meets only two or three times a semester. According to the outgoing president, E. S. Bordin, professor of psychology, these meetings "serve as a unofficial discussion t campus. For instance, ter we dealt with the decision-making in t sity.", Although definite are usually not issuec ings give the member interested individuals discuss their differen view. Any action take coordination with the Universities forum for ulty organizations, since there is of issues on "an overlapping of both members last semes- and issues," Bordin explained. problem of "The -powerful weapon of cen- the Univer- sure puts the local AAUP member in an ambiguous position," said statements Bordin. "On one hand, we want d the meet- to pressure the University, but s and other not cripple it." a chance to The questions of the teaching fellow's role in the university and t points of where and when the university n is done in professor should present his per- formal fac- sonal political views to his stu- dents have been the focal points of discussions at meetings in re- cent years. Annual Convention On the state level AAUP holds an Annual convention and execu- tive meetings are held every two months. In recent years the na- tional AAUP has been decentral- ized, giving state chapters addi- tional responsibilities. The state organization is con- cerned with similar issues as the national and local AAUP, working closely with the State Board of Education in the development of the master plan for higher educa- tion in Michigan. Dean Gordon Van Wylen of theE College of Engineering has sug-e gested in an Engineering Council Report a four course sequence "tox give information on WesternE thought and to make engineers aware of sociological environ-F ment." The new sequence wouldt require a freshman Great Booksi course with writing instruction in the senior year. The four coursest would probably replace some hu-1 manities electives, freshman Eng- lish and Group II English. The elimination of required free electives will reduce the ri.wnber of hours needed for graduation from the present 138 to 128. The chemistry requirement will also be cut from the present eignt hours to a four-hour minimum. One chemistry course will be re- quired with high school chemistry as a necessary prerequisite. Modern Approac The faculty also approved a proposed rew physics sequence of two or three courses which will take a "modern approach" to the subject, according to the report of the Core Studies Committee. High school physics will be nec- essary for admission to the class. A review of mathematics cours- es and credit hour distribution in the first four terms of study will also be undertaken. Engineering classes will be mod- ified to provide a group of core courses in materials, thermody- namics, particle and rigid body mechanics, solid mechanics, fluid mechanics and electrical engineer- ing science. , Freshmen will be required to take a new four-hour course in digital computing and graphics communications. Computer graph. ics will replace Engineering Graphics 101. The relevancy of requiring Engineering Science 101 for all freshmen is also being con- sidered. . New entrance requirements for freshmen will increase the num- ber of English units needed from three to four. Candidates will be able to apply one unit of a for- eign language to this requirement. Four units of mathematics will be required, two of algebra, one of geometry, half a unit of trig- onometry and half a unit of analytic geometry or advanced topics. Three and a half units are now required.' Instead of two units of science, the student will need one unit in physics and one in chemistry. Electives will be increased fronm- three to four units. Two units of foreign language are recommend- ed. Both the Regents of the Uni- versity and the engineering school faculty termed the new require- ments "consistent with the ever- increasing demands for upgrading the quality of engineering educa- tion." All the planned changes were based on the recommendations of the Core Studies Committee. Socrates and Slide Rules Working Together U' Professors Voice Dissent at Protests without Fear of Reprisals KEEP FREEDOM RINGING -U BUY U.S. NOTICE TO FRESHMEN: One counseling service the University of Michigan does not provide is helping you choose the place where your clothes will be properly dry-cleaned and laundered. To help you avoid the mettlesomeness by trial-and-error, we cordially invite you to stop in and become acquainted with us-the right place for you-for service as you like it-WHEN you like it! 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