SENIORS GIVEN CUTS IN GREATER NUMBER

Taking effect immediately after the midyear examination period, Seniors in good standing will be extended the privilege of unlimited cuts, according to the decision of the Faculty announced last night. This action does not grant to Seniors the additional Dean's List privilege of extending vacation periods by not attending Classes immediately prior to, and following holiday sessions.

The action of the Faculty in increasing its reliance upon the initiative of the individual student in the University is announced as frankly experimental, but if not abused, as a step toward probable further extension of academic freedom in the University. The success of the Dean's list plan has been acknowledged by successive steps in enlarging the group included, and the decision of the Faculty to leave the attendance of classes by Seniors to their own discretion is significant of the increasing confidence and reliance to be placed in the students.

"Trusted With Greater Responsibility"

The regulation as it is now worded, reads, "Men on the Dean's List, and all Seniors in good standing, are trusted with greater responsibility and discretion in the matter of attendance, so far as this does not interfere with the collective interests of the Classes to which they belong."

The present change has been worded specifically so as to retain for the individual instructor the right to demand attendance and to exclude from his course any student whose failure to appear at regularly scheduled meetings of the class, in any way interferes with the conduct of the work. Exceptionally small classes and experimental courses requiring the cooperation of the personnel of the meetings, are ordinarily the only ones which will fall in this category and again the decision will not rest with the individual instructor or professor.

Privilege Gradually Extended

The Dean's List men, originally crested to include the first two groups on the Rank List, were first given the privilege of attending classes and lectures at their own discretion. This included the right to cuts both before and after vacations. Later the Dean List was enlarged to include group three of the Rank List. This was a larger step in the extension of freedom, as the third group has consistently included many more than the number of students ranked in the first two classes. Subsequently the opportunity for Freshmen to gain Dean's List privileges was granted and first year men who had gained the required grades after the mid-year examinations were placed on the list.

Two years ago it was decided not to take attendance at all in graduate courses, with the result that an undergraduate not on the Dean's List, but sufficiently advanced in some subject to take graduate work, enjoys these privileges in such a course.