Introduction:
In the beginning of January, the Committee on the Student Life Initiative (CSLI) released to the Dartmouth community, specifically the Board of Trustees, its recommendations for the improvement of student life at Dartmouth. The majority of student discussion this term has been focused on all aspects of the recommendations - the positives, negatives, and what was left out.
After reviewing the report, the Committee on Academic Affairs of the Student Assembly believed that the CSLI did not include recommendations for the improvement of student and faculty relations at Dartmouth. In the first part of the report, the CSLI stated the following:
Dartmouth should be a place where learning is paramount. By this, we mean not just learning by absorbing material in the classroom or mastering skills such as critical reasoning. We also mean learning in the sense of coming to know more about one's self and others, through interactions among students themselves, together with professors, administrators and others.
However, the report does not follow through on this declaration that an important part of learning at Dartmouth is that of interaction with four different groups of people - students, professors, administrators, others. It focuses merely on interaction of students with other students. This winter, the Committee on Academic Affairs focused its energy on reviewing student and faculty relations to supplement the Student Assembly report on its recommendations to the Board of Trustees regarding the CSLI report.
How we gathered information:
The Committee on Academic Affairs sent out a survey to both the student body and the faculty asking for their personal experience regarding relations with the other group. We received approximately 800 responses from students and 200 from members of the faculty. The questions were the following:
- Students
- In general, do you have contact with your professors outside of the classroom?
- Do you have a professor that acts as an academic advisor to you?
- Do you spend time with an advisor (who is a professor) outside of the classroom?
- In general, is the interaction you have with the faculty based on your own initiative?
- Are you satisfied with the amount of student-faculty interaction at Dartmouth?
- Please feel free to add any suggestions for improvements for student-faculty relations.
- Faculty
- In general, do you have contact with your students outside of the classroom?
- Do you act as an academic advisor to any students?
- Do you make effort to interact with students outside of the classroom?
- Can you explain how social space available in academic buildings affects your interaction with students?
- Are you satisfied with the amount of student-faculty interaction at Dartmouth?
- Are you in support of the D-plan?
- Do you have any suggestions for ways to improve the relations and interaction between the faculty and students?
Other information in this report came from the discussions that the Committee on Academic Affairs had throughout the term. Discussions at the general Student Assembly meetings sometimes touched on aspects of student-faculty relations and that information has been incorporated into this report.
Initiative
Almost every student who answered the survey said that the interaction they had with professors was based on their own initiative. The exceptions were a few students who said that it was their fraternity or sorority that initiatied meetings with professors, and also that some professors would arrange meetings with their students. Many of the professors said that their interaction with students was also based on student initiative - and that they liked it this way. They feel that students who are interested in pursuing a relationship with a professor should seek out the professor first. However, the gap exists when there are students who “would like to interact with the faculty more, but honestly [are] slightly intimidated.” This sense of intimidation is a common sentiment among students, especially with the freshman class. A reason for this is the current weak advising system at Dartmouth. However, the College Committee on Instruction is presently revising the system. The improvement of freshman advising will improve student and faculty relations at Dartmouth because hopefully each student will have a positive previous experience that will promote further initiative on their behalf.
A few professors discussed the fact that they are advisors to student organizations and that this is an opportunity for them to interact with students outside of the classroom. Some professors also mentioned that they were leaders for freshmen DOC trips, which is another way to interact with students at the onset of students' Dartmouth career. These professors seemed to express sentiments of reward and enjoyment in their activities. It is understandable that all professors cannot be advisors for student organizations and that not all professors want to be freshmen-trip leaders. However, this is something that professors can do that students greatly appreciate. One professor discussed faculty attendance at student art/music/drama performance and sporting events. “I always enjoy seeing my students perform/compete and it gives me another thing to talk to them about later.” While tickets are subsidized by the college for students to attend these kinds of performances, there is no kind of subsidizing for the faculty members. Th attendance of professors at student performances leads to breaking down the barrier existing between the classroom and extracurricular life - both of which are important parts of the educational experience at Dartmouth.
One professor in the Comparative Literature department discussed the idea of having more opportunities for students and faculty members to informally meet. Students are interested in discussing issues that are particularly interesting to them. This is obviously the same for professors and the idea of having more theme lunch tables other than just foreign language tables was suggested. “I'd love to discuss my research interests with students, and/or present the more light-hearted and entertaining aspects of my subjects...I like seeing groups of students getting involved with academic activities that the faculty organize, such as conferences and symposia.” Besides the Presidential Scholarship program and working (paid) for a professor (which is a program highly praised by both professors and students), there is very little opportunity for students to interact with their professors in an academic setting on a regular basis. The teas and dinners can only offer so much interaction. When both professors and student come together in a common area to have discussions or get involved in the programming of academically related events, on a regular basis, the substance and actual experience that the students and the professors have, is one that could create an enriched environment for both groups at Dartmouth. One professor put it quite eloquently, “both need to understand more about the full contours of the other's life.”
Space available
One of the main problems that inhibit student and professor interaction outside of the classroom is that space is not readily available. All professors hold office hours; however, sometimes students cannot attend because of conflicts with other classes. One professor in the biology department said, “If there were a large social space outside Gilman 101, say, where students would be sitting around waiting for class to start, I would have these chance meetings. It could be a place where the answers to tests are posted with space for students to work cooperatively on problem sets rather than isolated in carrels in the libraries. It could be a place for me to hold office hours rather than trying to cram 5 people into my office at once.” Along a similar vein, in the comparative literature department one professor said, “we need a cafe in Dartmouth Row, or nicer more inviting lounges where students and faculty could talk and work.” The idea of more comfortable departmental lounges is best exhibited at Thayer School of Engineering. Both professors and students discussed how the Great Hall is a place where students work together on their problem sets (therefore learning from each other) and also that professors can frequent the hall to discuss academic issues with students. It is a meeting place for study groups, Teaching Assistant meetings, and a place where, as the biology professor suggested, one could hold office hours that would be more of a group discussion time. Berry Library should be including new places where students and professors can interact in such a setting. However, it is important for students and professors to utilize the opportunities to sit in the lounge before and after class, as well as professors taking time to relax in the lounge and strike up a conversation with a student.
Meal hours are a great opportunity for students to interact with professors in an out-of-classroom experience. Some professors invite students to their homes for dinners, but both professors and students said that this seemed to be a rare experience. Many students and a few faculty members praised the new lunch program at the Hanover Inn, where students can invite a professor to lunch; the cost being covered by the college. Students brought up suggestions of more informal interaction in Thayer Dining Hall. One student suggested that the college should give each faculty member an amount of free DBA so that they would be encourage to have lunch with students in the dining halls. One professor relayed the fact that there is no formal place like a faculty club, to take students to. Another one suggested a student/senior happy hour at Lone Pine Tavern. One student stated, “There ought to be more department gatherings where all of the faculty and major students can hang-out, like a tea or wine-and-cheese party.” Another suggestion from a student was that of more funding to invite professors to dinners with student organizations. The Rockefeller Center student organizations have many opportunities for students to have informal meetings with a group of professors, as well as a group of people that they are aquatinted with. Often in an environment where the students feel comfortable around their peers, they do not hesitate to get into discussion with the professor and other students. This kind of dinner is a change from the everyday bustle of Food Court and many students would welcome the change.
The D-plan
The D-plan has been discussed widely in other sections of the Student Assembly's report. However, both the students and the faculty mentioned the D-plan as one of the sources of difficulty for student/faculty relations. Many students claimed that if they were not struggling to get through the fast-paced term, they might have a little more time to casually interact with professors. The faculty stressed a similar attitude - “Most students are more interested in getting through the term than nurturing relationships with professors.” Many professors discussed the Foreign Study Programs (FSP) as the best part of the D-plan. Many believe that the FSPs are the best way for students to get to know professors and that more students should take advantage of them. They praised the intensity and living atmosphere that the FSPs offer for an academic environment.
One student suggested sophomore summer as a time that students and professors could take advantage of the nice weather and more relaxed atmosphere to host informal gatherings (BBQs and picnics) as an opportunity to have majors get to know each other outside of the classroom, as well as professors.
Class Size
Both students and professors talked about class size as a major impediment in Dartmouth's educational system. For a college that prides itself on undergraduate education, class size is too large. It is rare for professors to get to know students' names unless they frequently visit during office hours. Class size goes hand-in-hand with student-faculty interaction. Because some classes provide so much less interaction than others, they are the weaker for it, and therefore bring down the entire department, one student claimed. One professor said, “students develop a 'lecture mentality,' expecting to be told stuff rather than contribute; and they get less articulate over their four years in college.” The professor went on to say that if more of the classes were smaller, out of the classroom interaction would be less awkward and more substantial.
The Tenure Process
Last year, the Student Assembly composed a Task Force on Student Involvement and wrote a proposal for improved student involvement. One aspect of it focused on student input in the tenure process. It is included here:
The incorporation of student input in the tenure process should be increased.
- On-going Process:
- Currently, the students who participate in the tenure process are selected randomly. Because of this, most students feel largely left out of this process. For instance, if not randomly selected, students who have particularly good experiences or particularly bad experiences with a professor have no ability to affect that professor's tenure status. One means of teaching students to make their voices count would be to implement a citation system. At any time, a student can cite a professor for high or low quality of teaching. These citations would be considered during the tenure process, so that students would have a clear opportunity to affect this process.
- Including More Student Perspectives:
- Rather than just contacting random students, the tenure committee should contact all students that have taken courses with the professor who is up for tenure. This would increase cost, but the tenure committee would have a broader range of opinions to consider with regard to a professor's teaching ability and more students would be aware that they could play a role.
- Currently, both the Government and Education Departments have student steering committees consisting of students within these respective majors. Among other things, these student steering committees advise the department on course offerings and interview prospective faculty members. To increase student participation in the academic life of Dartmouth and to foster student/faculty interaction, each department should create a student steering committee. Steering committee members who have taken classes with a professor who is up for tenure should also play a direct role in that professor's tenure process by serving as a student representative on the tenure committee. With extensive knowledge of the department and the professor, these students are uniquely qualified to describe their professors' teaching proficiency.
- Increased Awareness:
- More broadly, it is important that students be well informed of not only the ways in which they can provide feedback on the teaching ability of their professors, but also how they can affect the tenure process. By educating students about when professors are eligible for tenure and about the various student input mechanisms, we will provide students with a voice, and, most importantly, we will empower them to use it. The Administration, Faculty, and Students must work collaboratively to achieve these informational goals.
One professor who is somewhat satisfied with student and faculty interaction at Dartmouth highlighted many of the problems with the interaction. “There are great stresses on the faculty to do research, serve on committees, concentrate on teaching. Doesn't leave a lot of time to just hang out with students or even attend scheduled events. Add a family and it's even more challenging. There is also the faculty recruitment process and what they pick up on (in terms of what is important) once they are here. Being a Mr./Ms. Chips is not part of that message.”
Conclusion
Student and faculty relations at Dartmouth are in need of improvement and the call comes from students and professors alike. While each person individually striving to improve their personal interaction, there is only so much that can be done through individual action. The Student Assembly would like to recommend the following:
- Each department would be given money to host a formal gathering for declared majors once a term. Both students and professors would attend and have the opportunity to discuss their personal academic interests.
- A departmental lounge would be built with comfortable seating and good lighting as a place for students and faculty members to relax in during the academic week. Once a week, a tea would be held in the lounge for students to attend and have the opportunity to stop in to talk with their professors - past and present.
- Professors would be encouraged by their department chairs to host conferences with students at the beginning of the term to spend a time getting to know a little bit about the students' academic interests and extracurricular activities, as well.
- Each department forms a student steering committee. The information regarding the student steering committees can be found under the "tenure" section of this report. However, most importantly, steering committees give student opinion an importance that is not found in other aspects of their college experience.
- A student course guide be institutionally supported by the college. While the ORC is a comprehensive guide to classes, there is little that it does to help students pick out a strong course-load each term. A student taking organic chemistry should not be taking an intensive-reading history class and government class, as well. However, the ORC offers no opportunity for students to discover this information. Students are interested in what their peers say about a class and are not interested in tarnishing a professor's reputation with statements in a course guide. If a professor is not well liked by students for his unwillingness to answer questions or have discussions after class, others should be able to know this. With a course guide, there would be an easier start to a term because students would have some knowledge ahead of time what to expect from a class, instead of skipping around from class to class for the first two weeks. One student's request for the course guide is an attempt to have a positive first meeting with the advisor. “When my advisor didn't know about some of the classes that I wanted to take, it was a bad first impression of professors at Dartmouth--they seemed out of touch. With a course guide, the professor and I would now discuss things more relevant to his knowledge--such as what that major entailed, etc.”
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