Questions
for Committee Consideration
on Report of
Task Force on Undergraduate Education
Drafted by Martha
Cotter, Senate Chairperson
September 2005
1. Would it be better to go back to
the
nomenclature proposed originally, in which the new arts and sciences
degree-granting unit would be called the “Rutgers School of Arts and
Sciences”
and Douglass, Livingston, etc. would
be called
(residential) colleges?
2. Has the Task Force accurately
assessed the
strengths and weaknesses of the present structure? To what extent does
the
proposed structure correct the weaknesses and preserve the strengths of
the
current structure?
3. Are there alternative structures
that would,
on balance, better correct the problems with the current structure and
preserve
its strengths?
4. In what ways does the proposed
structure
promote the central goal of reconnecting students and faculty outside
the
classroom? In what ways does it hinder
realization of that goal?
5. Do the proposed powers and
responsibilities
of the Vice President for Undergraduate Education, the Vice President
for
Student Affairs, and the “campus deans,” as well as the reporting
relationships
involving them, constitute a rational structure conducive to achieving
the
goals articulated by the Task Force?
6. Should Douglass be preserved as a
women’s
college? If so, what should be its
relationship to the College (or School) of Arts and Sciences?
7. What are the pros and cons of the
proposed
administrative centralization of academic advising, residence life
programming,
student centers, funding of student organizations, and counseling
services? Are there ways to eliminate
current inequities without complete centralization?
8. What would be the projected cost
of
implementing the major Task Force recommendations, including the
establishment
of a substantial number of learning communities and of an enhanced New
Brunswick-wide Honors Program? Is the
university committed to spending the money to “do it right?” How could learning communities and other
co-curricular
programs be supported in the likely event that alumni giving decreases
substantially in response to the dissolution of the arts and sciences
colleges?