03/05/2016
The ASG Academics Committee, has put together their recommendations for academic changes in the future. Their goals include, and are not limited to lowering credit requirements, and incentives for professors. As Senator, I have some questions about why there was not a push for a social inequalities requirement, specifically with a U.S. focus. I share this information to get any feedback, criticism, and suggestions from members of FMO.
Contact Gwendolyn Gissendanner with any comments:
[email protected]
Faculty Task Force on the Undergraduate Academic Experience
White Paper
Introduction
The Faculty Task Force on the Undergraduate Academic Experience was convened by
the University Provost Daniel Linzer in order to create a report of recommendations and action
items for the upcoming years. The group composed of 13 faculty members, 6 administrators, 1
graduate student, and 3 undergraduates from ASG. The Task Force analyzed the academic
experience as impacted by a wide range of topics such as diversity and social inequalities,
academic stress, financial aid, CAPs, and more. The final report of recommendations was more
than 100 pages filled with detailed explanations and data.
As students of our university, we are directly affected by our administration’s decisions.
It is crucial to stay informed so our voices are heard and progress can be made. ASG, serving as
the bridge between the administration and the student body, is writing this white paper in order
to spread awareness of the suggested recommendations by the Task Force, as well as to facilitate
conversations for turning said recommendations into reality. In this white paper, we aim to hit at
recommendations that we, ASG, feel most pressing for students. Due to the limitation of its
length, the white paper is by no means a comprehensive list of recommendations made in the
original report. Our paper is a mix of prioritization of issues and analysis. We highly encourage
students to take a look at the original report, linked at the bottom, to gain a more complete
understanding of any recommendation.
Themes
The Task Force wrote its report with four central themes: Time, Efficacy of
Communication and Ease of Navigability, Consistency of Priorities and Values, and
Interpersonal Connections. After numerous meetings and open forums with faculty and
students, the level of stress put on students by over commitment and lack of time became
abundantly clear to the Task Force. Another aspect that quickly became clear was that due to the
existence of six different schools and separate administration under each school, information and
resources are extremely decentralized. Additionally, due to the decentralization of information
and challenges in effective communication, the Task Force recognized that there has been a lack
of consistency and understanding of what our communal priorities and values are as a university.
Finally, through the investigation it became evident that the university needs tremendous work in
encouraging interpersonal connections across campus. Meaningful interpersonal connections,
crucial for a community of growth and support, are only possible in an environment where all
individuals equally feel valued and supported by the university.
Recommendations
1. Diversity and Social Inequalities Requirement
The Task Force report did not explicitly make a Diversity and Social Inequalities
Requirement in our curriculum as one of its recommendations. However, it dedicates sections to
discuss the importance of an ongoing conversation and immediate action. As evidenced by the
ongoing campus demonstrations and frustrations, the university has thus far failed to adequately
provide an inclusive environment for students of all backgrounds and identities. We strongly
urge the university to take proactive action in educating all its undergraduate students on the
ongoing histories of marginalized communities. We must ensure our graduates leave campus
with understanding and empathy to stand in solidarity rather than in the way of societal progress.
2. Workload
The Task Force urges the university to make a serious effort at reestablishing the norm
for the amount of academic work asked of a student. The Task Force recommends two methods
to achieve the new norm. First is to decrease the Weinberg graduation requirement credit from
45 to 42. The second is to redefine one course credit as maximum of 10 committed hours of
work per week including class time. Courses that traditionally require more than 10 committed
hours of work per week should be allotted proportional amount of credit (e.g. 20 hours/week as a
2 credit course) or should be revised to reduce the amount of required work. Implementation
concerns such as how the recommendation would alter depending on the school, allocation of AP
credits, what type of courses should remain, etc. are addressed in detail in the original report.
3. Rethinking Perceptions of Undergraduate Experience
Currently, Northwestern fosters a stressful and extremely competitive environment.
While stress and competition are not inherently negative, we believe that the level of stress and
competition at Northwestern is at a level where individual growth is stunted and discouraged. As
a possible solution, the Task Force recommends the university to reevaluate the metric system
used for our admissions process. Additionally, the university must make an institution wide
effort to clarify their definition of wellrounded students. With options such as the dualdegree
program and the recent launch of the “At Northwestern AND is in Our DNA” campaign, our
campus currently sets up students to take on overwhelming amount of responsibilities. While a
wide range of passions and interests are wonderful, in our current campus culture this message
has been translated to students feeling the need to have multiple majors, certificates, student
group involvements, leadership positions, and more in order to feel adequate. We urge
Northwestern administration as well as the student body to turn and push towards a campus
culture where a deeper involvement in fewer organizations and academic subjects are valued
over creating a long resume. A new campus culture where one feels incompetent to list only one
major or organization as their specialty needs to be discarded in order to decrease moments of
hyperstress and unhealthy competition.
4. Incentives for Effective Teaching
As one of the top universities in the country, we have the pleasure of having some of the
best professors in their respective fields. We have some professors who go above and beyond our
expectations. These professors are the ones who become our role models, are there for support,
and are willing to give more than their required time if it means helping their students learn.
These professors help create a place of community and care, and they should be rewarded for
their work. Therefore, the Task Force recommends that the university look into tangible
incentives to reward hard working professors and to encourage less passionate professors to
improve. Pedagogy must be updated regularly in order to reflect the changing campus climate
and the new discoveries of information. Tangible incentives, such as grants or credits, would
help encourage faculty to stay invested in their teaching.
5. Financial Accessibility
Students from low SES backgrounds currently lack academic mobility and opportunities.
The unequal access to resources and experiences due to a student’s financial background does
not align with our university’s mission and values. Additionally, it is unacceptable for our school
to claim placing value in diversity while failing to effectively accommodate for all students. To
move in the right direction, the Task Force recommends covering overthecap course material
costs, extending financial aid to 5 year programs, and increasing grants for summer courses for
students from lowSES backgrounds. These efforts help alleviate academic financial stress, allow
for lighter course loads during challenging quarters, and create higher flexibility for
opportunities such as study abroad. We believe all Northwestern students, not just those who can
afford the costs, should have the above academic options available. Students at our university
should not have to sacrifice academic opportunities and success due to financial concerns.
Future Thought
The Task Force report is only the beginning of our progress. The report, while written in
extreme detail and backed with evidence, will only remain in recommendation form unless the
university decides to act and students choose to be involved. The concerns and solutions brought
forth by the report is in no way comprehensive or final. However, one thing is certainour
university must change now and for the better. As students we must stay informed and engaged
in the conversation and work together with faculty and administration to push towards a better
campus for all.
Read the original report at this link:
http://www.northwestern.edu/provost/docs/TaskForceReport_Jan2016.pdf
For any additional concerns or comments on the report, contact the ASG members below
ASG Members on the 2015 Faculty Task Force on the Undergraduate Academic
Experience:
Noah Star, ASG President
Christina Kim, ASG Executive Vice President
Riko Ohashi, ASG Academics Vice President
