CUE to Study Teaching Loads As Major Topic This Semester

The Committee on Undergraduate Education (CUE) decided yesterday that the distribution of teaching load among teaching fellows, junior faculty, and senior faculty would be one of its major areas of study for this semester.

In its third meeting since membership elections were held at the end of February, the CUE also discussed as topics for consideration possible changes in the grading system, the place of the arts in the curriculum, the role of women in education, and the possibility of opening restricted majors.

Discussion about the distribution of responsibility for instruction focused on the likely cutback of teaching fellows as a result of impending Faculty budget cuts.

Robert J. Kiely, dean of Undergraduate Education and CUE chairman, said that even though the CUE is a purely advisory committee, it is important that it examine the role of teaching fellows in undergraduate education. "With fewer teaching fellows, it is important that the CUE make a statement about how they can best be employed," Kiely said.

Some CUE members said that the University should spend less money on teaching fellows and more on junior faculty, who could perhaps offer better instruction.

However, Karl Strauch, professor of Physics and a member of the committee, said that much of a teaching fellow's education results from instruction he provides undergraduates. "Only by explaining concepts to students can a graduate student really understand his subject," he said.

Kiely cautioned against placing too heavy a teaching load on professors. "It's wrong to think of Harvard as either a Williams or an Amherst," he said. "The faculty of Harvard is hired for many things, only one of which is instructing undergraduates. Senior faculty also are involved in research and teaching graduate students."

Members of the committee agreed that the CUE should study education programs at other universities to see how institutions similar in size to Harvard provide for contact between students and senior faculty.