Re-Rad/Distribution Factsheet

= PDF Version = You can download the PDF version of the factsheet by clicking on this link:

If you would like the original LaTeX version, it is available [[Media:Distribution_Factsheet.txt | here]] with a plain-text (.txt) extension.

= Hampedia Version =

General
In the Faculty Survey Re-Rad conducted in the spring of 2008, 42% of the faculty polled (22.5% of faculty responded; see the full survey report for details), when asked "How could the Division I system be improved?" gave comments suggesting changing the distribution requirement or the learning goals, or both.



Students
Since this change creates more flexible restrictions, students would have more choice with respect to their courses. This would:


 * Give students a sense of greater ownership of their education.
 * Foster independence, helping Division I to prepare students for Divisions II and III.
 * Create more student excitement at their classes; students would be more likely to be in classes they are interested in, given broader and fewer definitions for distribution. This item is especially notable:
 * A recent NEASC (New England Association of Schools and Colleges) report indicated limited engagement was an issue with Hampshire.
 * The December 2007 EPC Report comments that it appears students do not feel "obligated to respond to the challenge" that exists in their courses, which seems to indicate a lack of interest.
 * Help stop students feeling "constrained by the distribution requirement" as described in the December 2007 EPC Report.

Faculty
Since the categories are reduced in number and decoupled from school hiring lines, this also allows professors greater freedom of subject in their 100-level classes.


 * This allows a greater variety of interdisciplinary courses, crossing borders between modes of inquiry and schools; these sorts of courses help "cross-pollinate" students between several schools.
 * More students will be more interested, as mentioned in the discussion of engagement above; this means there is further possibility of challenging courses since students will be more inclined to meet professors' expectations and challenge themselves further.
 * Course material is distanced from the bureaucratic "hiring-line" distinctions between schools:
 * Professors will have an ability to teach what's wanted rather than something subjectively appropriate to their school.
 * Courses can be more internally consistent when they are unburdened with over-definition.
 * This will help reduce faculty workload:
 * According to the Faculty Survey, faculty spend on average 9.5 hours teaching and preparing for 100-level classes weekly (compared to 7 hours for 200-level and 2.3 hours for 300-level classes, and out of 48 hours total). Simply because it requires fewer courses that satisfy distribution, it reduces the number of these time-consuming 100-level classes.
 * More engaged students may reduce the necessary preparation time for 100-level classes.
 * As this requirement is not tied to Hampshire schools, it opens up further the possibility of using 5-college classes, independent study, and other innovative learning experiences for Division I distribution requirements, reducing class sizes.

Hampshire
Hampshire philosophy and the philosophy of the distribution requirement are also aided:


 * The distribution will more effectively enforce breadth of thought since the lines are no longer arbitrary, politically-influenced lines (as are the boundaries between schools).
 * Cultural changes: more excitement about courses leads to a more academically-focused culture, which over time improves Hampshire's academics and its external image.

Miscellaneous
The claims on this fact sheet were taken from Re-Rad's Faculty Survey Report and the faculty discussions in the spring of 2008, the November 2007 NEASC report, EPC reports from 2007 and 2008, and the arguments in the various Re-Rad and EPC Division I proposals.

For more information:


 * Read the Faculty Survey Report, available at 2008 Faculty Survey Report or other source documents.
 * Contact Re-Rad or the Educational Policy Committee.

This fact sheet will be available on Hampedia, at Re-Rad/Distribution Factsheet