'To Those Who Ask...'

Students who--perhaps from a streak of latent masochism--find it amusing to thread their way through the intricacies of "Rules Relating to College Studies" may have discovered that "all Honors candidates during their last two years may petition to enroll for units of independent studies for ungraded credit.'" Those who make this find should congratulate themselves as perceptive readers; the clause is decently buried under six paragraphs on tutorial for credit and senior theses.

Yet despite the publicity it has not received, the independent studies program seems to be growing. Fifty undergraduates used the privilege last semester, and sketchy figures from a few departments indicate that as many as seventy-five may participate this spring.

Established by a Faculty vote in April 1959, the program is designed to allow particularly able students to receive credit for courses of study which they themselves design. Although they may receive advice from Faculty members, most departments do not subject them to formal supervision. Nor do they, as a rule, have to submit anything at the end of their work beyond a bibliography of books read. And, of course, they receive no grade.

There are obvious dangers in so flexible a program. The assumption behind independent studies is that some undergraduates are sufficiently self-disciplined, able, and interested in scholarship to benefit from work outside the formal structure of courses, reading lists, and grades. But it would be hard to deny that not all are so well qualified: there is always the possibility of students using the time for independent studies to relax or to do work in other courses. This poses the Faculty and Administration with a dilemma: how does one prevent abuses without depriving the student of his independence in studying?

In the opinion of those closest to the program's operation, this problem can never be completely solved. Their provisional answer has been to judge each application separately, on the basis of the student's record and supposed "character," and the merit of the proposed study program he submits--a procedure which could lead to unduly arbitrary decisions. The head tutor in each department and the Administrative Board conduct these evaluations; both must approve each application. During the first few months of the program, the Committee on Advanced Standing carefully scrutinized all requests. But they lacked the knowledge to evaluate the merits of each applicant and his program and, in effect, resigned this function to the departments. So the young lady who hands you the form now says, "if you can get your Head Tutor's signature, that's 95 per cent of the problem."--if you don't run afoul of some administration rule.

Whether your head tutor autographs your form depends on his particular department's attitude toward the program. While most approve in principle of top students working on their own, their ideas of how this should be accomplished vary. The History Department, for example, feels that most students require fairly close contact with a faculty member, and attempts to give them special second tutorials, while students of English are not required to have a faculty advisor at all. The Faculty legislation establishing the program limit it to Juniors and Seniors who are Honors candidates, but Group III students have a hard time in some departments. On other points--whether independent study can be counted for concentration; whether it can be taken outside one's field; whether it can be used informally for writing theses (a cardinal sin in the eyes of some administrators)--each department has its own unique ideas.

A further complication is that independent studies is only one of at least six programs designed to produce the same effect. So if your petition runs afoul of some department, some person, or some rule, don't despair: you may still get what you want under the rubric of course reduction, rate reduction, special rate reduction, tutorial for credit, or double tutorial for credit, or something.