Barely one year after its first major revision, Curriculum 2000 is undergoing added scrutiny in the form of a Quantitative Studies task force, said Robert Thompson, dean of Trinity College. The new committee, scheduled to report its findings May 1, will determine the availability and effectiveness of statistics courses as part of new and additional Quantitative Studies requirements.
Previous revisions to Curriculum 2000, announced in February 2004, divided the once-confederated Natural Sciences and Quantitative Studies into two separate categories. Only one math-based Quantitative Studies course was required at that time.
Since the changes, Trinity freshmen and all subsequent matriculants have been required to take two courses in each field. The move is anticipated to significantly boost demand in the Quantitative Studies field for sequential or follow-on courses, such as Math 31 and 32.
“We’re looking at more than just one stand-alone course now,” said Thompson, who also serves as vice provost for undergraduate education.
The task force is charged with both analyzing the problem as it stands, as well as proposing ways to remedy the situation. Thompson said statistics is the area most affected by last year’s changes.
“The committee I put together is a committee to try to look at that end of the Quantitative Studies spectrum,” he said. “What would be a good sequence of courses? This curriculum provides an opportunity for a more thorough grounding in statistics, data analysis and design.”
John Harer, vice provost for academic affairs, is the chair of the committee. Harer declined to comment on his task force’s findings before the official report is released.
Plans are in place to analyze the overall effectiveness of all Curriculum 2000 revisions this summer.
“I know that in the summer when I do my analyses again that I can kind of see what the experience has been,” Thompson said, adding that the revisions made the curriculum more pliant to student preferences. “We increased the degrees of freedom when we made those last changes.”
Seyward Darby contributed to this story.
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