Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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e academic atmosphere at Caro lina was discussed at a retreat Oct. 1-4 at Camp Gravatt near Aiken sponsored by the Student Govern ment Association and the administration and attended by 100 students, faculty and administrators. A special committee, chaired by Prof. Glenn Abernathy, studied the recom mendations. of the retreat and issued a final report this month to President Thomas F. Jones. The report is published here in its entirety. Mr. President: This conference was called to examine the overall quality of academic life at the University. Although the makeup of the group and the limited time available for its initial work prevent an exhaus tive study, we are confident that more detailed effort by larger elements of the University can begin from this groundwork. We believe an adequate academic at mosphere to be one which elicits the enthusiasm and the best effort of students and faculty in a cooperative learning experience, encouraging diver sity and eclecticism in educational expe riences and opening broad avenues of intellectual and cultural exploration to students and scholars. Using these premises as a standard (however limited), we conclude that the academic atmosphere at Carolina is deficient in several respects: first, there is far too little genuine enthusiasm for learning being generated in the student community as a whole; second, there is far too little opportunity for cooperative faculty-student learning experiences; third, curricular modifications allowing greater diversity in educational experi ences for a broader variety of students need further development and wider application; fourth, intellectual and cul tural exploration need special emphasis. In an effort to meet these problems as directly as possible, we have divided our study and recommendations to give detailed consideration to areas of first priority. To a large extent, the sections we have used approximate significant stages through which a student develops academicaily: 1. Recruitment and Admissions Stan dards ,2. The Freshman Year 3. Academic Advisement and Registra tion 4. Teaching Methodology and Evalua tion; Student Motivation 5. The Living-Learning Environment 6. Intensive Programs 7. An Academic Center 8. Non-Classroom Factors General Conclusions We have reached certain general con clusions in the sections and have pre pared specific recommendations based on these findings. Recruitment of top-level high school students in South Carolina needs greater emphasis and development. Admissions standards should encourage enrollment of students who are highly motivated regardless of prior background and per formance. A new format for the Freshman Year should be devised to facilitate the transi tion from typically highly-structured secondary school programs to the greater Independence and intellectual openness of a mature educational set ting. Academic Advisement and Registra tion both have adverse effects on the academic environment in their current organization and a major overhaul of each program is required. Excessive use of large classes ham pers both effective teaching and learning mediately to solve this problem. Inno vative teaching methodology and evalu ation techniques should receive concen (rated emphasis and recognition. Student-faculty contacts outside the classroom must be -substantially in creased if the potential for University experience to be a genuine learning period is to be realized. Experimental and intensive programs contribute vitality to the curriculum by testing learning methods and such pro grams deserve continued emphasis. An Academic Center should be devised to coordinate and stimulate intellectual activity of high merit and to enhance the stature of the University as an academic institution. A wide range of non-classroom activi ties influence the academic atmosphere, and if the University is to develop a vigorous intellectual climate immediate action is needed to improve deficient facilities, provide an adequate bookstore, create a strong intramural athletic pro gram, deal with the almost total lack of commons areas for faculty-student contact, and provide adequate facilities for better programs of speakers, con certs and dramatic productions. Analysis and Recommendations We are committed in strongest terms to improving the academic atmosphere at the University of South Carolina and we urge immediate, vigorous action directed to the resolution of problems which stand in the way of achieving this goal. Our specific recommendations for action follow. Recruitment and Admissions Standards The University of South Carolina should give top priority to the attrac tion of academically motivated students. We recommend that the University enact the following proposals in order to attract such students: 1. Expand the National Merit Semi Finalist Day to include National Achievement Scholarship designees and provide a two-day seminar on the Uni versity of South Carolina. II. Establish informational seminars on specific curricula within the Univer sity, such as a "College of Engineering Day." III. Provide a larger number of scholarships. IV. Increase publicity on honors pro grams as a major recruiting device. V. In recognition of the special im portance of guidance counselors to the recruitment process, we propose that workshops and seminars be established for guidance counselors in order to acquaint them with educational oppor tunities at the University. USC staff should thereafter work with guidance counselors and teachers to identify highly motivated students who might otherwise be overlooked. VI. In recognition of the influence of community leaders outside the educa tional field in' recruiting students, we propose the establishment of seminars for special groups such as businessmen, newspapermen, ministers, and others, to give them current Information on the opportunities for students at the Uni versity. ' Experimental Freshman Program The present freshman program does not adequately orient the typical student to the genuine aims of the University fkeedom of inquiry, self-determination and participation in a community of learning. To test the effect of a dif ferent experience, we propose that an attempt be made to establish an experi mental first-semester program. Detailed provisions would have to be carefully worked out,, but we suggest combining courses In philosophy and psychology of higher education and library orientation with higrhly unstructured partiiation in any other courses offered by the Uni versity for undergraduates. In the latter courses the student should be allowed to participate as an occasional auditor in a wide variety of subjects or as a regular attender for fewer courses. In the first two courses the usual forms of work assignment, and tests should be graded- on a pass-fail basis, In the un structured portion, the student should be required only to keep notes and com ments on lectures, discussions or sem inars he chose to attend, with credit assigned on a pass-fail basis for total semester credits of 15 hours. We pro pose that a one-year experiment of such a program be instituted at an early date, with about 150 participants selected at random (with their concurrence) from those who volunteer for the program. This experiment should lead to the de velopment of a completely new approach to the first semester of college and offer the student both a sharp change from high school approaches and an oppor tunity to become acquainted with, the great diversity of fields of learning which a University offers. Academic Advisement and Registration Careful, in-depth academic advisement is essential aid to any student working to define clear educational goals at the University. Two major problems beset the present advisement program. First, the student load per advisor is too large to permit adequate individual attention. Second, information on current course offerings and program requirements is too frequently inaccurate or not prop erly distributed to advisors. We recom mend that: I. The ratio of students to advisors should be sharply reduced. Advisement may be accompli.-hed by using faculty members, graduate students, responsible and trained undergraduate students, and professional counselors. All advisors should be trained periodically, and better coordination among them must be de veloped. Advisors should be compensated to encourage a serious advisement atti tude. II. Information on curricula should be disseminated by the following additional devices for greater efficiency: A. Publish a handbook incorporated with registration materials each se mester including basic course outlines, qualified persons to contact to answer questions, a clear definition of such terms as "cognate," "elective," "in tensive major," etc., and procedures for drop-add, change of major or school, grade corrections, transcript procurement, and transfer. B. Publish lists of advisors in all schools In the Carolina Community and all University offices. C. Mail departmental schedule list ings to all advisors as soon as such listings are available. Course or pro gram changes should be treated simi larly. D. At the earliest possible date after registration for a given term, class schedules including names of designated instructors should be made. available. This should occur no later than mid-semester. III. The present registration scheme needs a substantial overhaul. We recoin menad inaclusion of the following pro posals in a new system: A. Encourage pre-registration, in cluding both the pre-payment of fees and enrollment for courses. (Pre registration for the entire student body is accomplished at other univer versities, Including large ones such as the University of Tennessee. This procedure should be specifically In vestigated for our University.) As a minimal change, computer registra tion should be more widel -elye ArnindwmEc Ati as a means of reducing the present inconveniences. In addition, so long as the present system is to be continued, there must be more advisors available at the Coliseum to expedite necessary modifications in scheduling. B. Summer orientation and regis tration of freshmen should be manda tory,-with a special corps of freshman advisors serving in this function. Teaching Methodology, Evaluation, and Student Motivation Teaching excellence and a strongly motivated student body are crucial to the attainment of a good academic at mosphere. To assist in realizing these objectives we recommend the following: I. Reduce the size of classes. Exces sive use of large classes inhibits student-teacher involvement and in creases pressures for straight lecture presentations rather than more flexible and often more productive classroom techniques. The policy of limiting class size is costly, but we regard it as a matter of first priority. II. Establish more "team teaching," especially for lower level students. It is important to provide a broad exposure early in a student's career to the va rious faculty members and the various points of view which they. represent within a department. We also recom mend moving away from use of single texts In introductory courses and utiliz ing greater diversity of text materials to broaden students' exposure. III. The University needs to make fuller use of its audio-visual facilities by recording lectures of our own faculty and visiting lecturers. These materials should be placed at the disposal of the students as an addition to the library system of the University. IV. We believe that' the process of education will be served by departing from the standard lecture format and utilizing other Instructional methods. Replacement of a percentage of class meetings by less formal' meetings out side the normal time slot is advisable. Classes should be broken up into more small discussion groups, meeting both with and without professors. V. Students should be encouraged from the very beginning to take part In the Instructional process. They should be active in defining the curriculum, the course syllabus, and should be held re sponsible at least in part for Instructing each other by reading papers and giving lectures. We recognize that students are not adequately prepared to assume these responsibilities at the outset of their freshman year, but we feel that part of the responsibility of the University Is to teach them to assume this responsi bility In due ti.