“I like the idea of replacing the Core. [The Core] is a bad idea, an insufficient idea to begin with,” said Professor of Government Harvey C. Mansfield ’53.

Mansfield said that the foundational knowledge courses proposed to replace the Core’s current “Modes of Thoughts” will be grounded in pertinent issues, not in professors’ specific fields. “[This] will be more what students need rather than what professors in their specialties want to teach,” he said.

Baird Professor of Science Gary J. Feldman agreed that the basic proposal is a good idea, but said that the five areas of study should be refined.

The report’s proposed five areas are based upon the current structure of divisional deans, recommending that students complete two courses in “the humanities, the social sciences, the life sciences, and the physical sciences with two additional courses in a category defined to emphasize international perspectives.”

“I think that more work needs to be done in thinking about the areas that we want to require general education courses in....Just using the divisional deans as an example is a fairly mindless way to go about things,” Feldman said.

Kishlansky was not as enthusiastic about the replacement of the Core.

“I believe that the Core is a very good way to introduce a broad sweep of liberal education and though I think it has its problems, I think that over the long run, people are going to be saddened to see the losses involved in losing the Core,” he said.

The report also recommended that even those who place out of the language requirement under the current system should take at least one semester of a foreign language, and added that students should no longer be required to complete their foreign language requirement during their first year.

‘KNOWLEDGE IN DEPTH’

The report recommended changes to concentrations that could potentially alter the undergraduate academic experience.

These recommendations include moving concentration choice to the end of the first term of sophomore year and the elimination of honors tracks within concentrations. According to the report, the number of required courses in a concentration should also be reduced to 12, with exceptions granted upon petition.

“The one change for undergraduate life which is quite clear is pushing back the choice of concentration,” Mendelsohn said. “I would say that the extra term is a good one. Freshmen are not quite ready to make that choice by the middle of their second semester.”

Kishlansky also said he supported delaying concentration choice, but worried that it might cause problems for students who want to change their concentrations.

“I think that there’s a lot of merit in it, although it will have an impact on a number of tutorial programs. There will be some growing pains there,” he said.

The proposed changes to the structure of concentrations, as suggested by the report, will also require new methods of pre-concentration advising and of advising within concentrations.