Dept. of Geology To Add Course, Widen Pass-Fail

The Geology Student-Faculty Committee met with graduate students in the department for the first time last week, and revealed that the faculty has already planned to implement two changes suggested by students for next year.

Raymond Siever, chairman of the Geology department, promised that the faculty next year will offer at least one new course which the students requested in response to a survey last spring. He also promised that some graduate courses which are now graded will become pass-fail next year, as many students asked in the survey.

James F. Hays, assistant professor of Geology, will teach the new course on experimental methods in geology. This course has not been offered for several years, Siever said, and will be revived specifically in response to the survey.

The faculty will add to the pass-fail courses by reclassifying courses from the 200-level to the 300-level, Siever said. The student-faculty committee will help decide which courses will be changed to the 300 level, he added.

Siever also promised that the committee and the faculty will re-evaluate language requirements and oral exams. Hays, who is also a committee member, said that the committee may discuss whether some lecture courses in the department will be converted to seminars.

The committee plans to hold open meetings at least once a month in the next school term. Its previous meetings have all been closed to non-members.