Core Review Seeks Students' Opinions

Calling Harvard's current curriculum review "a student issue if there ever was one," the chair of the Committee to Review the Core Program said a letter has been sent to all undergraduates seeking their thoughts on the Core and its future.

"There's lots of information floating around, and we want to get as much feedback as we can," said Pforzheimer University Professor Sidney Verba '53 in a telephone interview yesterday.

Dated November 8, the letter solicits students' opinions on the Core's philosophy, structure, advantages and weaknesses. It asks them to evaluate the Core's position in the curriculum as a whole and the balance of subject areas within the Core itself.

"The review committee is anxious to learn about your experiences and perspectives," the letter reads. "We are interested in knowing what part(s) of the program you have found most--or least--valuable? Our mandate, ultimately, is 'to advise the Faculty on the character and degree of any changes that may seem desirable.'"

The move to elicit such a wide range of student response is unusual for a College committee. Although Verba could not recall another time this had been attempted, he emphasized the efficiency of the technique.

He said the committee considered placing ads in The Crimson or postering in the Yard, but decided a letter was the most personal way to reach as many students as possible.

Justin C. Label '97, one of two student members of the committee, said the committee had understood from the beginning that this type of solicitation would take place.

"It wasn't really even discussed," he said. "I think it was always seen as one of the necessary steps in this review."

Label said a similar letter has been sent to faculty members. According to Verba, the committee is also planning a letter to alumni "on the assumption that how you feel about your education ripens over time."

Verba said the committee is now in an information-gathering stage. He said students will be consulted a second time, perhaps through open forums, on the tentative plans and changes to the Core the committee suggests.

According to Verba and Label, the committee hopes for a good response because the issue is a basic one affecting the academic lives of all undergraduates.

"I wouldn't be surprised if a few students took the time to write a few thoughts down," Label said. "I hope that we get a handful of thoughtfully-crafted letters."