Dartmouth Plans Revamp Of Its Semester System

Dartmouth College will next year replace its present two five-course semesters with three, three-course terms, it was announced yesterday.

This sweeping change in the academic curriculum, affecting all students, aims for "less dependence upon teaching" and more "independence in learning," President John S. Dickey said yesterday. The new system will shift the emphasis from conventional textbook and classroom to source work and library study.

Arthur E. Jensen, Dean of the Faculty, said that the length of the college year will remain the same, but that students will take 40 instead of the traditional 37 courses during their four years at Dartmouth. Each of the new semesters will contain 11 weeks; they will be separated by Christmas and Spring vacations.

A joint faculty-trustee committee, following two years of study, recommended the change, which has now been approved by the Dartmouth faculty. Formal confirmation by the Board of Trustees is expected in May.

The "increased pressure of college education" stimulated the committee to investigate the academic system and recommend the changes. The shortage of high quality college teachers and the need to "make teaching more attractive both professionally and economically," also figured prominently in the reasons behind the shift, it was explained.

Primary Place in American Education

This major academic turn-about contributes to a general Dartmouth program of improvements, leading up to the 200th Anniversary of the college in 1969. President Dickey intends Dartmouth by then to occupy the primary place in American education.

Other corollary academic changes contributing to more independence of study are also planned. A program of general reading both inside and outside elected fields of concentration is also envisioned for all students. The advanced standing system, the honors program, and special independent reading courses will be extended. Individual expression in writing will be encouraged, probably leading to fewer exams and more papers.

The college will maintain stress on scientific courses, while it may possibly increase its emphasis on the humanities.