THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Page Five
-PAID ADVERTISEMENT-
- - iv
I
THE R
THE COMI
GRADUATION
EPORT
%ISSIO
OF
N ON
Submitted to the Faculty
of
The College of Literature, Science and the Arts
University of Michigan
March. 1'. 14
REQUIREMENTS
INTRODUCTION
The faculty of this College is be-
ing asked to review the kind of edu-
cation its own rules require and to
consider whether improvement is
possible. The growth and changes
of the past decades have brought
piecemeal alterations in academic
requirements, the overall effect of
which raises doubts in the minds of
many. Even imaginative reform
has often seemed to make the sys-
tem more cumbersome, with still
another epicycle added to maintain
the appearance that liberal educa-
tion continues to revolve around
old values.
There are other reasons for un-
dertaking a reassessment now. A
nationwide questioning of higher
edication is taking place, and we
should benefit from the queries
raised. The agitated conflicts of the
late 'sixties have passed at least
for the moment, and we can now
consider educational issues while
the memory of their disruptive
force is fresh, but as matters of
principle rather than objects of bit-
ter negotiation. It might be wise to
establish that calm can be condu-
cive to considered change. This
University has been especially for-
tunate, for in the Vietnam teach-
ins and the agreements following
the'strike led by the Black Action
Movement it found its way to con-
structive steps without the divisive
wounds that weakened many insti-
tutions. .Undergraduates in LSA
have demonstrated their active in-
terest in improving education in
scores of special projects, in their
work int departmental and college
committees, in Student Govern-
ment, in counseling, and on this
Commission; and the new admin-
istration of the College has stressed
its concern for undergraduate edu-
cation. Even the very financial
pressures that compel the search
for efficiency can also be a stimu-
lus to qualitative improvement.
The Commission on Graduation
Requirements. has on the whole in-
terpreted a broad charge broadly,
agreeing with the earlier report of
the Committee on Undergraduate
Experience that "the total educa-
tional environment" is the proper
field of study. Yet, for so grand a
subject, our approach has been
rather modest (1). Essentially, we
listened to the voices of criticism
and of educational idealism within
the University community and
within ourselves, then tried to seek
practical, institutional ways of sat-
isfying the former and nourishing
the latter. As particular proposals
suggested themselves, we tried to!
test them against the experience of
others, the other proposals before
us, and the traditions and present
realities of The University of Mi-
chigan. As a result, we have risked j
a report more informed by com-
mon sense than daring, more con-
cerned with internal coherence
than expedience.
The Commission's failure to for-
mulate a statement of educational
philosophy may thus be the mea-
sure of a rather narrow preoccu-
pation with how education func-.
tions, the sign of a certain shrewd:
caution, or an admission that no;
one on the Commission was sureE
of possessing the cultural breadth,
critical acumen, and moral confi-~
dence that liberal arts colleges
across the nation claim in their
catalogues to stamp upon their!
graduates. We found it almost too
easy to agree that a liberal edu-
cationtshould be a liberating ex-t
perience leading to a sense of selfs
and of one's place in time, to ae
knowledge of any sympathy fori
others, to the habit of rational
thought and more reflection. For
us the more difficult challenge was
to seek some consonance between
the daily practices of a universityC
and the high principles of educa-t
tion. As to the latter, we did nott
find a community divided. The'
Commission--itself a fairly diverser
group of men and women, stu-t
dents," faculty, and alumni--held!
open hearings on some topics, was'
in touch with each departmentt
through a member of its facultyn
who served as liaison with the
wished the College to- abandon or generated in the community at sire to strengthen the relationship i is serious. Second, we are cn- ary schools become more cor- has presently fallen (approximate-
lessen its commitment to a full large. between formal education and the cerned that the criteria used on n, and as more non-traditional y 200) and so far aspossible
undergraduate education from theconduct of life is anepeso .eetn cniaes or usd i m d asmrno-rdtna y2 )ads frapssbe
undergraduate education from the very pace of change ofsducttfalieiseaexpression selecting candidates for admission students seek admission. Even now, the numbers of foreign students
end of high school to the bache-d the crisi of valueso oen respect that deserves a welcome. mayrhave becomestoo narrow. The however, the College is as ill-in- should be increased.
br' dgrenoonewh dubedcited as a dark sign for the Fu- pportunities for work-study, ca! efforts of the past three years to formed of how students from van-!
the central importance of a strong ture of higher education, like the reer planning, and social action recruit more Black students have ousbackgrounds fare as of what i. i1. Although all counselors
liberal arts curriculum to the Uni- heralded benefits of increased lei- merit a place in the College's pro- shown, we believe, that a very able its graduates do after leaving col- share responsibility for assisting
versity as a whole, no one who sure and rapid communication gram as an expression of its own but excitingly diverse group of stu- gtg o-tairsonlstudetfonessstng
did not believe that undergraduate may also underscore the impor- belief in the importance of the dents is more possible than many non-traditional students, one mem-
education should provide a god ay alo unerscrtte o liber rr szher of the Counseling Office should
deal of cultural breadth, a chance anceo'lieral arts edcain a that srts, and of its concern of us imagined. Our very size 1. 4. More systematic study of be given special responsibility for,
for intellectual exploration, and: a ap ationtyor a nd aetions between what they con-y should per t ex t and the results of our admission policy and should develop special exper-
' cnetae ot nasource of adaptability in a worldnetnsbwen hateytdy periment rather than justify rigid- is essential, and to this end, a) ise in, assisting older stdets to
some nrtdtraig of change. To the Commissionand how they live. Similaly, the ity. Finally, demographic and s tes
particular field or discipline. these encouraging restatements of admission of more older students, vial indicators suggest that sl- the University must provide more identify their particular needs and
ldfthsodasoma mrebetter coordination with extension thuhteCfl 1 adequate and consistent funding itif make their way quickly into the
Once drafted, the report was old faith should also mean moreor an e s though the College will continue to for such studies; b) the Office of i life of the College.
submitted to the Executive Corn- emphasis upon helping students to rams, an d e r use coth receive more applicants than it can Admissions and the Steering Cor-:
mittee of the College to the Stu- participate in the planning of tud reir i can demonstrate tie con-g adit, th sls s adints from mittee should work with the Of- 12. An Office of Temporary
Sdent-FaofltyPolicy eommittee,too d tion n ol randtween formal schooling which it selects students is likely to fice of the Registrar, the Counsel- Admission, perhaps that of the
the Curriculum Committee, to the aol incentie forder artstand ive recruitment of ing Office, and others to provide a counselor named above, should be
LSA Student Government, to the colleges to try still harder to en- The desire to increase the :ese outstanding applicants will there- record-keeping system that will fa- established in LSA. It should then
chairmen of each department, and courage e personal discovery of community within the College fore become even more important cilitate study of the college per- be made known that an rson of
to a number of individual mem-her prnci . is long-standing and has at differ- than it has been. On the other formance of those admitted; c) any agecould applyfor admission
bers of the faculty for intehsive More specifically, there run ent times been a justification for hand, the probability that more the impressive expertise of the to anygcourse in the College. The
criticism. The Commission then; through the following recommen- fraternities and sororities, inter- I students not just out of high school University (especially in the De- candidate would be admitted upon
met to weigh these reactions, dations .certain beliefs about un- collegiate athletics, and frshma'n and not even in the traditional age- partment of Psychology, the Insti- a) the counselor's recommendation
amending its proposals to produce dergraduate education in the Col- hazing. But the communities the bracket of 18- to 22-year-olds will tute for Social Research, and the after informally ascertaining t h e
this document. lege of Literature, Science, and College should most encourage will 'consider attending college offers a: Evaluations and Examinations Of- candidate's qualifications and rea-
the Arts that deserve explicit state- be those based on shared intel- new opportunity for increasing both fice) should be engaged in such sons for w 1 s h I n'g to take the
The recommendations in this re- ment: lectual interests, and their obvious the quality and the diversity of our studies.
port thus start from the world we, . locus is within departments, in or- student body. In addition, students, agreement from the nstructorin
know, and they require no basic Every student should feel an in- ganizations such as the Collegiate having recently experienced the ad-T o ageoe crse thatrthis ai-
change in the nature of the facul- tellectual purpose in being here. Institutes, and the opportunities for missions process, and alumni, in I.S . The Office of Admissions charge of the course that this addi-
ty or students. The suggestion that Yet there are in modern society expanded living-learning programs. close touch with their communities hould every year with the advice tional student would enrwelome st-
more faculty serve as counselors many understandable reasons for can make a sgComminteectnuctandthtnrlrl
Y I - 1 . .._ _ _, _. , can make a special contributin ,.,_ ,... o. .~~
of students does not require that the academically talented student The College has reason to view Convinced that LSA should contin- teh
allfaclt mebes wuldor! t lse igh o orcofidncein1 t smstd exper.,tents ditf
all faculty members would or, to lose sight of or confidence in its activities as central to the life t l ue to offer the full range of under- therscrite (s ottasig
could do so; the emphasis on inde- that purpose. Therefore those ad- of the University, and much of its graduate education, and having achievement in a particular field,
pendent work does not assume that mitted to this College should be strength follows from the larger found the Office of Admissions and eveet o h mtivain or
all students want to or are cap- permitted, without penalty, to de- institution. But the opportunities the officers of the University gen- creativity, scores on specially de-
able of working extensively on fer their .martriculation and, with implicit in proximity and mutual erally, as well as the faculty, stu- vised tests) as a means of de-
their own. We have not treated the dignity, to interrupt their study. interest are often obscured byy dents, and alumni anxious to coop- veloping additional or superior cri-
University .as a power structure, A general seriousness- of purpose bureaucratic structures and poor erate in effecting improvements in' teria of admission. (4)
for its most important qualities . rather than age should determine communication. There should be: our admissions policies and tsm er
rest on the extraordinary autono- when students apply. greater reciprocity between this dures, we make the following re-
my of each faculty member and College and others of the Univer- uew aetefoigr- I. 6. The achievement tests In
The primary responsibility for . . commendations: s . field hich
each student. We accept the Col- the d Sity in the courses available to each'specificf s, whexperts
lege of Literature, Science, and e i n e u other's students; the ssibilitofagree add little iformation to the
the Arts as necessarily large, as rcive sneita e stude offering more joint degrees should Steering Committee aptitude tests, which are not used
'omtetohgacdmcsa-own, students therefore should bemoejitdges'frplc en by any department
committed to high academic stad- candidly reminded of this from the be considered; and the establish-' for placement
lards, and as closely tied to grad-cndidslytfremindedgvofthsdrio - ment of B.A.-M.A. programs could on Admissions in the College, and which demand
start, formally given the decision- the applicant's time and expense,
uate training and research. Other making responsibility w h i c h is benefit both undergraduate andti 1. The present LSA Admissions! should not be required for admis-
schol can, a nhis ol- theirs anyway, and systematically graus edc ati n addi' Committee should be replaced by a sion. In addition, the other charges
lege, create an atmosphere of in-f aided to accept This responsibility the various administrative services'!SernComteonA isonoaplctshudbeevwd
timacy, educate those with no vo- I rof the University need to be better Steering Committee on Admission to applicants should be reviewed
cation for the academic, or plan a through improved counseling and informed of the College's concerns isting of five faculty members, and made as low as possible.
carriculum thatigrsacademic plna arequirement to plan as well as:ifrmdofte olee cne n clru
curriculum that ignores academic freedom to choose. Students should for the effects of general policies including the Committee's chair-,
departments. Rather, the Commis- be heedtochakse fuldes use ofon undergraduate life. The flexi- man, appointed by the Dean and'n
sion has sought to make more of the University through a specially bility achieved in meeting the the Executive Committee, and four
the College's great strengths in the designed freshman program, inter- needs of individual students should' students appointed by the LSA Stu- Outstanding Students ?
diversity of its student body, the discilinary programs and Colle- be perceived not as exceptions to dent Government. The Steerig;
variety of subjects taught, and the the rule but as the rule itself. ,'Committee should function much' I. 7. Despite general satisfaction
integration of graduate-level so- seaiat Ind raning inde- like an executive committee to the with our present reputation and
phistication into undergraduate ed- search, and pportunities for inde- The recommendations that follow Director of Admissions, who should the quality of our student body,
ucation. are, in theCommission's judgment, be an ex officio member of the the College has no choice but
Education in the liberal arts realistic steps toward these ends. Committee. In addition, three ex to make sure that we are as ac-
While eschewing the pretensions should involve exposure to a wide The case for their adoption-despite officio members should be named tive as our competitors in reaching
that underlie claims to predict the range of subject matter; and in signs that some changes are badly to represent the College's counsel- outstanding students and in con-
future, a frequent affliction in re- the variety of academic subjects needed-rests on their merits and ing Office, the Dean's Office, and vincing them and their schools of
ports of this sort, the Commission taught, this College obviously ex- the College's strength rather than the Alumni Association. The mem- our active interest. We believe that
came to accept certain common eels. But formal education should any cry of desperation. When the bers should include women and faculty, students, and alumni could
forecasts as elements which good also involve learning organized and College's alumni were asked to rate members of minorities. While the be more effectively used to keep
planning should take into account. presented in a variety of ways; their undergraduate education as confidentiality of individual appli- fresh the public's memory of our
First, not only will the numbers of' ideally each student should experi- good, adequate, or poor, only 23% 1 cations must be rigorously pre- concern for quality; and we urge
able students demanding admis- ence lecture courses, seminars, settled for "good", an additional; served, the Committee should have the College Scholarship Commit-1
sion to the College level off, but discussion g r o u p s, independent 50% insisting on words like "excel- access to all other information tee to consider making some part
the traditional B.A. may even be- s t u d y, team projects, and re- lent" or "superb"-and that figure available to the Director of Admis- of its awards primarily on the{
come relatively less essential as a: search. rose to 90% among the more recent sions. basis of ability.
prerequisite for some careers thanyI graduates (2). The Commission'
it has been, and the University will Not everything worth knowing,' hopes that this report and the fac- I. 2. The Committee should be' I. 8. Potential applicants should
forms o training not just for funds demic sort, need be formally ulty s response to it will help the charged a) to oversee the execu- be informed that distinguished per-
but for recogition as the most im taught. An obviously efficient way College of Literature, Science, and tion of the policies and procedures formance in extension courses
portant sourc of higher' educationOf teaching large numbers, the the Arts to refute those educational laid down by the Dean and the Ex- taught by this faculty will 'count in
To the Commission this argue well-designed lecture course, will segregationalists who isist the ecutive Committee and by the gov- their favor toward admission and
for a more systematic effort to en- remain basic to undergraduate edu- "concern for the advancement of erning faculty of LSA: b) to rec- can compensate for weaknesses in
able students efficiently to take ad- cation. But the careful preparation knowledge and for undergraduate ommend new policies and prac- their earler record; faculty mem-
h f of such a course requires enor- education are not likely to coexist tices both to the Dean and the Ex- bers who teach in the extension
antage of te unique resourc mous expenditures of faculty time, in the same institution." (3) ecutive Committee and to the gov- program should be encouraged to
Y. and it follows that teaching fewer erning faculty; c) to assist the Of- recommend truly outstanding stu-
Second, access to the College is lecture courses would free time fice of Admissions in preparing an- dents.
likely to become yet more open to: for other valuable forms of instruc- 'nouncements, application forms, ef-
students from varied backgrounds ' tion and student-faculty. contact. fective recruiting programs, and in- A Diverse Student Body
and much more so to older adults,: Oterviews that fully and realistically
especially women, returning for tenenc tokesutresunetrad- the * ; M S I N reflect the qualities of the College;; The quality of the educational
a formal education previously in- ate education in terms of a string d) to report formally and fully to experience provided by the Col-
terrupted, or for training quite dif- o disparate courses. Some ways' As the largest, most diverse unit ahe governing faculty at least once lege, its national role, and its so-
ferent from that they have had to correcttthisures.ency wayl in a lclysuppot year and to the Dean and Execu-cial responsibilities all require that
before. To the Commission, this tive Committee at least twice a diversity among its students which'
meant that it will in the future be keeping the advantages of the the College of Literature, Science, year. enables them to bring varied ex-
me difficult even than in the course structure are to require and the Arts has a special obliga perience and interests to their
students to pursue fewer courses tion to be accessible to the citizens mutual educ..tion.The
past to prescribe programs and ingrae d e pth, oecuag!fMcian e n omnoIl . 3. The Dean. of the College .Oprin
ru es toftalstudents and at the greater dep t ' ito encourage of Michigan, men and women of all shti gnt n hh~ eesmtfolr attracting oreign under-
ruls t fi al sudetsandat hemore careful planning of a Stu- races, urban and rural, privileged should designate one of the Steer- isfratatn oeg ne-
same time that students will need dent's overall toprovide ing Committee's ex officio mem- graduates are likely to increase,
me hlpa being introduced o erall program, pride and poor. Yet the Commission, be- hers to receive criticism and com- and older students can enrich un-:
even morehep inbeig itodcdmore integrative, interdisciplinaryhievngthattisrolegesiosti -critierracatslfeandhel tcbrdg
into the University and shown courses, and to encourage greater portat tis o he state plaints about admissions, to serve g
ways of rapidly making use of it prtant contributions to the st as a point of contact for admitted the artificial gap between formal
for their own needs. vety in the eqhc tn and nation stem from its high aca- students who have postponed ma- education and the larger society.
dents work and in the sequence in demic standards and its central triculation, and to observe the pro- (5) By allowing temporary ad-
Third, the movement toward spe- whd theytra ch i place in a distinguished university, mission with a minmum of bu-
cialized training within businesses, and concentration. rejected open admissions or ad- greys of students granted on the reaucratic formality to ndividual
community colleges, adult and ex- The integration of the various missions by lot. Neither are we sat- basis of new or experimental cri- courses, the College can encourage
tension classes-w h i I e providing facts of an undergraduate's edu. isfied with the status quo. teria. an important form of continuing
s e r i o u s competition - also does cation and the element of personal 'education with little cost to itself.
much to relieve the pressure on intellectual exploration so impor-I. Broadly considered, three large, The current, more complicated
the College to provide immediate- tant to it can be given greater im- issues attracted our attention. Onej Criteria for Admission procedures for admitting students s
ly practical, vocational education. portance by lessening the distinc- I is structural, the isolation of the Of-: who are not candidates for a de-'
To the Commission, this suggested tion between the upperclass and fice of Admissions from this Col- While agreeing t h a t measuredi glee serve a somewhat different
the College should unabashedly re- underclass years while giving the lege; more than once we regretted ! aptitude tests (SAT, ACT), grade-I purpose and should be maintained.
main a very special sort of place, needs of freshmen greater cur- the decision taken a generation ago, point average, and high schooli The Commission therefore recom-
providing an experience quite dif- ricular attention. The requirements to centralize admissions activities standing at present provide the! mends that:
dent wouta tnereby bie exciuaea,
r and c) the candidate's payment of
a fee determined by the Regents.
r The student granted temporary ad-
mission would have full access to
the activities of the -course f r
which admission was granted and
be entitled to a certificate of at-
tendance and a grade. Normally,
no student should be granted tem-
porary admission. for a total of
E more than two terms or four
courses. But -a student's perfor-
mance as a temporary student
would weigh heavily in any sub-
sequent application for regular ad-
mission.
I. 13. The Dean's Office should
explore the possibility of estab-
lishing a Professional Fellows Pro-
gram funded by businesses, foun-
dations, and alumni whereby out-
standing men and women could
spend a year in residence in the
College with full access to the
facilities of the University.
Deferred Admission,
five times over the past five de-
gree lists. Joint degrees, on the
other hand, seem to offer exciting
opportunities that we have only
begun to explore.
Keenly aware of the growing
pressure for the award of exter-
nal degrees and convinced of the
social and intellectual justification
for their establishment, the Com-
mission nevertheless doubted that
this College should sail into such
a venture. A serious program for
external degrees is a complex
matter requiring careful planning
and very special experience, tal-
ent, and commitment. It is not
certain that we in LSA are the
ones to launch such a program
despite our clear obligation to
support a regional examining uni-
versity. (7)
-We recommand that:
Present Degrees
II. 1. The structured B.A. and
B.S. degree and the less-structured
B.G.S. degree be retained.
II. 2. The Program in Liberal
Studies be eliminated.
Joint Degrees
II. 3 .The present joint degrees
offered by the College of Litera-
ture, Science, and the Arts w I t h
other Colleges of the University of
Michigan be retained and that the
Dean's Office and the Curriculum
Committee recommended to the
faculty general guidelines for es-
tablishing additional joint degrees
within the University and for as-
sessing their effectiveness.
In addition, we believe t h a t
combined B.A.-M.A. programs
could add greatly to the attractive-
ness of the University, to the intel-
lectual excitement of the College,
and to the breadth of the graduate
program, whose quality remains
one of the College's greatest as-
sets. The availability of a five-
year combined B.A.-M.A. degree
would attract outstanding appli-
cants from across the country, and
it would provide increased curric-
uilnm flexibility for the ablest
students already here. The design
of such programs and admission to
them would remain with the de-
partments ,while offering an addi-
tional basis for accepting trans-
fer students. These programs
would thus contrive in the direc-
tion already begun by the Rack-
ham School, in its joint pro-
grams with other colleges, and in
that effectively developed by t h e
Institude for Public Policy Stu-
dies. We therefore urge that:
II. 4. Each department, in co
,peration with the Rackham
School of Graduate Studies, con-
sider the adoption of a com-
bined B.A.-M.A. program and the
means of identifying the under-
graduates who should be admitted
to it.
External Degrees
II. S. The central administration
of the University should be en-
.
,
I
Early Admission,
Transfer Students
Because it is the College's in-
terest that students undertake
their studies out of conviction
rather than social habit and that
they enter as soon as they are
prepared, the Commission recom-
mends that:
I. 14. The College should seek to
establish a policy whereby any
candidate granted admission could
defer his entrance by one year
and, in special cases, by two.
Since the complications to which
this policy might give rise and the
number of candidates who would
make use of it are hard to predict,
deferred admission might In the
first years be granted only to a couraged to pursue, along the lines
fixed number of students accord- indicated in the report of t h e
ing to procedures established by Michigan Council of State College
the Steering Committee and t h e Presidents, the possibility of es-
Office of Admissions. tablishing a degree-granting board
based on the cooperation of t h e
I. IS. The College should estab- public and private colleges of the
lish a well-announced policy of state.
granting admission and entrance
to unusually qualified students be-
fore they have co'npleted high.
school.
I. 16. The present restriction ad- II. SOURCES
mitting transfer students only af-
ter the sophomore year should be OF CREDIT
Iabolished.
The Commission was keenly
aware of the drawbacks of the
credit-hour system with its me-
chanical artificiality that tends to
EG E ' equate learning with some quan-
turn of work and to measure work
by hours in a classroom. There
The Commission considered the has been a growing trend toward
possibility of -increasing the num- overuse of the credit-hour as a
ber of bachelor's degrees in order bookkeeping device, accounting for
that diverse paths to the degree the faculty's "load", the College's
might. be clearly identified' and "productivity", and the cost of
encouraged, but the danger of education as well as a student's
producing more rigidity seemed standing. The course, on the other
weightier than the benefits. Simi- hand - with its implication of a
larly, investigationof the Associate carefully constructured education-
Arts degree produced no support 'al experience integrating lectures,