Officials OK underload proposal

The Arts and Sciences Council voted unanimously to approve a new underload policy at its meeting Thursday.

"The policy brought forward last year... needed reworking, but I feel the policy is going to help Duke students and is a good step toward re-imagining what undergraduate education is," Dean of Undergraduate Education Steve Nowicki, who helped shape the proposal, said in an interview.

Developed by the Academic Standards Committee, the policy will allow students who meet specific requirements to underload to three one-credit courses for two semesters during their Duke career. Students must have declared a major, passed 16 courses and have at least a 3.0 grade point average to be eligible to underload. They also must not be studying abroad--an exception the council discussed at length.

Margaret Riley, director and associate dean for Study Abroad, said she supports the current policy that bars students studying abroad from either over- or underloading while off campus. She noted that students studying abroad are expected to take a full course load and immerse themselves culturally.

The policy is an opportunity for students to pursue additional activities at Duke, Council Chair Suzanne Shanahan noted.

"It's about doing something worthwhile on campus," she said. "There are many opportunities on campus that are not available abroad. It's difficult to be the editor of The Chronicle while studying in France."

Junior Chelsea Goldstein, Duke Student Government vice president for academic affairs, said in an interview that she is heartened by the council's vote.

"I am really excited about it. I think it's a really great collaborative victory," she said. "I think it's a policy that will actually make academic life more flexible. It's a real victory for student advocacy in general.

"I came to this job as a faculty member, and I intend to maintain that position," he said. "Being a faculty member is what motivates me, and I wouldn't want to look at the University through the lens of anything other than that."

Nowicki discussed his work with the Undergraduate Leadership Group-a "forward-thinking think tank" composed of faculty, deans and administrators, who identify relevant issues in campus life and culture to "follow up on." Specifically, Nowicki said he hopes to address the impact of socioeconomic differences inside and out of class with an initiative through the Financial Aid Office and in planning New Campus, he said. He also noted his efforts to increase student engagement with faculty, including the Fall 2008 debut of the Chautauqua lecture series, and to think ahead about what undergraduate education at Duke will look like in 15 years.

Edward Gomes, associate dean of Arts and Sciences for Information Science and Technology, updated the council on the Web infrastructure redesign for Trinity College, a two-year project expected to be completed July 2010.

Gomes took suggestions from members about including faculty Web pages in Office of Information Technology support and ways to use information technology money efficiently in light of the economic crisis.