The Faculty Council's December decision to eliminate the Advanced Placement (A.P.) exemption to the Science Core requirement is a disturbing departure from the Council's stated commitment to reducing requirements. The change, which will not affect current students and will probably be implemented for the Class of 2003, prevents students who have scored a 4 or 5 on one of the A.P. science exams from placing out of either the Science A or B core requirement.
The Council's reason for eliminating the exemption--that high school A.P. classes do not provide the introduction to scholarly disciplines that the Core classes do--is a poor excuse for burdening students who have strong science backgrounds with yet another, arguably useless, requirement.
Though the Core's philosophy, to provide a diverse introduction to various areas of study, is a good one in theory, in practice it is a different story. Because of the questionable quality of many Core classes, we support any opportunity for exemption from them. Until now, it had seemed that the Council was similarly committed to freeing students from the weight of requirements. Apparently, though, a misguided belief in the need for college instruction in science disciplines for which A.P. classes prepare students equally well has gotten the better of the Council's members.
Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68 opposed the move from a professor's point of view, rightly pointing out in an e-mail that "only students are affected by it--it requires no more effort on the part of the Faculty (except adding a few more students to a few courses), but it does add a nontrivial burden to the requirements on certain students." Is it too much to ask for the Council to stick by its now-broken promise to minimize student requirements and reinstate the A.P. science exemption? Perhaps, but it's a new year, and anything is possible.
Read more in Opinion
Face/Off not a surrealist filmRecommended Articles
-
The Closing of the Harvard MindWhen the Core curriculum was instituted in 1979, it was hailed as a revolution in higher education, making the front
-
Committee Axes A.P. Credits As Science Core BypassBeginning with the class of 2003, first-years will no longer be able to bypass their Science Core requirements with Advanced
-
Faculty Council Nixes Science Core ExemptionDespite a stated commitment to reducing undergraduate requirements, the Faculty Council approved of a plan to eliminate the Advanced Placement
-
Curricular Overhaul Starts Quietly, But Calm DeceivesUndergraduate education will be getting a holistic look for the first time in years this semester, as a committee of
-
Coveted Curricular Review Spots Go to Eight UndergradsEight undergraduates bagged seats on the College’s curricular review committees, it was announced yesterday, and they are poised to press
-
Paring Down the CoreMany students want to do it, many have found it too difficult, but the University is finally making it easier