2008 Woodie Awards
YC Faculty Meeting Addresses Academic Standards
Summer School, Incomplete Deadlines, Latin Honors, On Campus Requirements Discussed
Zev Nagel
Issue date: 12/27/04 Section: News
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The Yeshiva College (YC) faculty convened its once-a-semester meeting last week to discuss two proposals adopted by the Academic Standards Committee this year, and reaffirm the faculty and administrations commitment to a mandatory six semesters on campus.
An email sent to faculty members prior to the meeting stated: "the faculty affirms that eight semesters of higher education (which includes not more than 2 semesters from Israel) are required for graduation, in addition to 84 credits (58 transfer)." Though six semesters on campus has been standard policy at YC for a few years, the meeting was an opportunity for the faculty to reaffirm their commitment to six semester minimums and for the administration to uphold it. In recent years, despite the on campus minimum, some students have still managed to graduate in less time.
"We're not trying to punish anybody by requiring six semesters," said YC assistant Dean Fred Sugarman. "Students misunderstand this: there's no way to get a comprehensive education in such short time. We're doing this for the students' own good, for their education. The fact that faculty and administrators care so much about keeping students around shows how much we care about their education."
Minimum requirements for outside summer school courses were also discussed at the meeting. Currently, university regulations require a minimum of five calendar weeks, set credits for each course, and a maximum of 10 transfer credits per summer. The faculty of each department is, and will continue to be, in charge of specific courses to be approved. Standards will then be evaluated by a dean. Chaos errupted during the discussion on outside summer school courses, leading to a heated debate among faculty members. The concensus was that Yeshiva will be moving away from accepting sub-par summer courses from outside institutions, accepting only, as a general rule, courses which Yeshiva does not offer during the academic calendar.
Two additions to the agenda came from resolutions proposed by the Uptown Senate (a recommending body comprised on YC and Sy Syms School of Business students and faculty) that were ratified by the YC Academic Standards Committee. The 2003-04 Uptown Senate, disenchanted with grade inflation and the poor reflection it has on Yeshiva, adopted a resolution to change Latin Honors to a percentage system. Currently, Latin Honors are based on a 3.50 GPA for cum laude, 3.70 for magna cum laude, and 3.85 for summa cum laude. The Senate proposal asks for a percentile criterion, limiting total Latin Honors to no more than 35% of a graduating class, which will automatically compensate for grade inflation. As of now, nearly 50% of each outgoing class graduate with Latin Honors. Though the change was adopted by the faculty, there was some confusion as how to apply the percentages when the university has three annual periods to file for graduation, January, May, and September.
The 2004-05 Uptown Senate also presented a proposal to the faculty. A new Incomplete policy has now been suggested, decreasing the time a student has from the conclusion of a course to turn in all their work. Currently, students have one full semester plus a summer/winter break to complete work before the incomplete deadline. The new deadlines would make June 30 the incomplete deadline for Fall semester courses and October 15 for Spring courses. The faculty also adopted the changes for the incomplete deadline.
Traditionally the faculty meets at least once a semester to discuss academic problems and vote on resolutions presented to them by the Academic Standards Committee and the Uptown Senate.
An email sent to faculty members prior to the meeting stated: "the faculty affirms that eight semesters of higher education (which includes not more than 2 semesters from Israel) are required for graduation, in addition to 84 credits (58 transfer)." Though six semesters on campus has been standard policy at YC for a few years, the meeting was an opportunity for the faculty to reaffirm their commitment to six semester minimums and for the administration to uphold it. In recent years, despite the on campus minimum, some students have still managed to graduate in less time.
"We're not trying to punish anybody by requiring six semesters," said YC assistant Dean Fred Sugarman. "Students misunderstand this: there's no way to get a comprehensive education in such short time. We're doing this for the students' own good, for their education. The fact that faculty and administrators care so much about keeping students around shows how much we care about their education."
Minimum requirements for outside summer school courses were also discussed at the meeting. Currently, university regulations require a minimum of five calendar weeks, set credits for each course, and a maximum of 10 transfer credits per summer. The faculty of each department is, and will continue to be, in charge of specific courses to be approved. Standards will then be evaluated by a dean. Chaos errupted during the discussion on outside summer school courses, leading to a heated debate among faculty members. The concensus was that Yeshiva will be moving away from accepting sub-par summer courses from outside institutions, accepting only, as a general rule, courses which Yeshiva does not offer during the academic calendar.
Two additions to the agenda came from resolutions proposed by the Uptown Senate (a recommending body comprised on YC and Sy Syms School of Business students and faculty) that were ratified by the YC Academic Standards Committee. The 2003-04 Uptown Senate, disenchanted with grade inflation and the poor reflection it has on Yeshiva, adopted a resolution to change Latin Honors to a percentage system. Currently, Latin Honors are based on a 3.50 GPA for cum laude, 3.70 for magna cum laude, and 3.85 for summa cum laude. The Senate proposal asks for a percentile criterion, limiting total Latin Honors to no more than 35% of a graduating class, which will automatically compensate for grade inflation. As of now, nearly 50% of each outgoing class graduate with Latin Honors. Though the change was adopted by the faculty, there was some confusion as how to apply the percentages when the university has three annual periods to file for graduation, January, May, and September.
The 2004-05 Uptown Senate also presented a proposal to the faculty. A new Incomplete policy has now been suggested, decreasing the time a student has from the conclusion of a course to turn in all their work. Currently, students have one full semester plus a summer/winter break to complete work before the incomplete deadline. The new deadlines would make June 30 the incomplete deadline for Fall semester courses and October 15 for Spring courses. The faculty also adopted the changes for the incomplete deadline.
Traditionally the faculty meets at least once a semester to discuss academic problems and vote on resolutions presented to them by the Academic Standards Committee and the Uptown Senate.