The University committee charged with evaluating the undergraduate College met Sept. 11 in University Hall for the first time since May and the third time since it was created in March.
"It really felt like we launched," said Dean of the College Katherine Bergeron, the committee's chair.
The Task Force on Undergraduate Education, which is undertaking a broad review of the College and its curriculum, comprises 10 faculty members and four undergraduates and will make recommendations in the spring of 2008.
"We've kind of been framing the conversation, or occasionally getting off on tangents," said Jason Becker '09, a task force member.
The upcoming reaccreditation review by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges was also a key topic of discussion during the recent meeting, and Bergeron was enthusiastic about the potential results the "parallel process" of the two simultaneous evaluations could provide for the College.
"We talked about our task force's relation to the reaccreditation process and about what the task force's actual charge is," said Associate Dean of the College Kathleen McSharry, who staffs the task force.
"Are we critiquing the curriculum, are we reimagining, are we recreating or are we just describing?" she continued.
Barrymore Bogues, professor of Africana studies, chair of the department and a task force member, told The Herald meetings had so far been characterized by "a series of conversations about the meaning of the open curriculum, and I think those conversations will continue throughout the entire life of the task force."
Though Bogues said he was pleased with the direction the task force has taken thus far, he admitted that progress was difficult to determine.
"If you're going to have a series of discussions and conversations, you only outline what will be the key parts of the conversation. ... You don't get to some kind of definite conclusion or even begin to see the conclusion - the shape of what the thing will look like - until a bit further," Bogues said.
Items discussed during the meeting included the role of introductory courses in the curriculum and how concentration requirements affect students' course choices during their time at Brown, Becker said.
The task force also debated the role of the so-called 'modes of thought' courses designed as an alternative to the general education structure, McSharry said.
Becker said these courses have "fallen out of favor" and suggested that "maybe we need to find something to replace that (aspect of the curriculum)."
The task force also returned many times to the topic of advising, Bogues said, explaining that the task force is considering the question of "how do you put pillars (into an open curriculum system) so that people don't fall between the cracks and so that people make the best use of that system?"
Following the recent meeting, the four subcommittees - on general education, teaching and assessment, concentrations and advising - will begin to meet formally, gather information and evaluate their findings, Bergeron said.
"It's a lot of work for a small group of people to try to do," she added.
Bogues said the subcommittees will begin meeting within the next week and that their findings will be discussed during the larger general meetings.
"The timetable is for us to try and get through most of our work by the end of the semester and have the report ready in early spring," Bogues said.
The preliminary findings are expected to be released in January, and Bergeron said this report will be used to "open up the conversation as broadly as possible."
Bogues, who is a member of the advising subcommittee, said the key point for the task force was "to look critically and honestly," especially through soliciting and examining data.
While task force members are gearing up for subcommittee meetings, plans are underway to include the greater campus community in the task force's work.
Bergeron said student members will also be encouraged to solicit feedback from their peers, possibly through the Undergraduate Council of Students or other student groups. Further, according to Bergeron, Department Undergraduate Groups and the use of technology were also discussed as possible outreach programs.
"There's going to be a MyCourses page - this week or next, with minutes from our meetings and other information," Becker said, adding that he hoped the page would become "an interactive space."
"We actually want there to be an open process," Bergeron said, adding that a campus-wide e-mail will be sent once the Web site is active.
Becker also hinted at the possibility of "focus group"-style dinners in which a students are invited to meet with task force members to provide input.
"We're working on it - it's currently in the pipeline. The students are going to do that kind of thing," Becker said, adding that student projects could also include a Facebook page for the committee.
The task force's next meeting will be held Tuesday, at which time the group will meet with representatives from NEASC to discuss the upcoming reaccrediation program.
