Six-week courses removed after student feedback

The Arch Core Committee approved the recommendation to eliminate the six-week course during the Arch.

The committee supported this decision, promising that the decision “ensures that students have more time to digest and learn the material.”

The Arch Core Committee is a group of administrators from President Shirley Ann Jackson's cabinet, including Vice President for Student Life Peter Konwerski, Provost Prabhat Hajela, and Dean of Students Travis Apgar, among 16 others. Their purpose, as supplied by Director of Media Relations and Communications Reeve Hamilton, is to ensure "a robust implementation of the Arch,” and “make the necessary enhancements and improvements as the program is continually evaluated and assessed.”

In the words of Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education Keith Moo-Young, the Arch Core Committee “came to this decision by evaluating and assessing student feedback from course evaluations, and other surveys.”

On Session I and II course evaluations, students responded to “How did the pace of this course compare to a fall or spring semester offering?” with an average of 2.73 out of three. Answers were given on a scale of one to three, with one being “Slower pace” and three being “Faster pace.”

After the Arch Core Committee came to their decision, it was then discussed and finalized by the Student Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees.

An email sent to the student body on Tuesday by Konwerski and Hajela reinforced the decision, stating that “based on preliminary student/faculty feedback and our initial analysis of the courses offered during the summer, responses indicate that the compact nature of the six-week courses did not allow for an in-depth exploration of material.”