2008 Woodie Awards
Stone Beit Midrash Program Gets a Face Lift
Changes to Include Sunday Classes and Credit Transfer
Eitan Kastner
Issue date: 4/18/05 Section: News
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Following a lengthy review, Yeshiva administrators have agreed on a number of changes to the Stone Beit Midrash Program (SBMP), including classes on Sunday, mandatory credit transfer, and the revamping of its curriculum. SBMP is one of four required morning Jewish studies options, of which students must be registered in order to be a full-time undergraduate student. The changes for SBMP will go into effect in the fall semester 2005.
Started in 1995 as a shorter alternative to the longer hours of the Mazer Yeshiva Program (MYP), SBMP, like MYP, offers chavruta ([Torah study in pairs] learning and a Talmud lecture; yet whereas the MYP does not end until 3 PM, SBMP classes conclude at 1 PM, allowing students to begin their college courses earlier in the afternoon. Additionally, SBMP students are required to attend a morning halakha or machshava [Jewish thought] class prior to chavruta learning, and until now have not been required to attend shiur on Sunday.
Statistically, SBMP students make up 18 percent of the undergraduate Jewish studies body; MYP makes 45.7 percent, Isaac Breuer College (IBC) 25.5 percent; and the James Striar School (JSS and the new Mechina program) make up the last 9.5 percent.
Under the new adjustments, SBMP students will now study both halakha and Tanach two mornings a week, and have an hour and forty minute shiur on Sundays dedicated to Jewish thought. Students will also be required to take their SBMP studies for at least one-half of a credit, which must be transferred to their afternoon college credit load. The credit transfer is similar to the requirement in IBC, where students can transfer up to three credits a semester towards their degree.
The changes come on the heels of a thorough review, only recently approved by Yeshiva College's Academic Standards Committee (ASC); however, the changes will remain provisional until the faculty votes on whether or not to approve the transfer of credit into Yeshiva College or Sy Syms School of Business, the two undergraduate colleges.
Started in 1995 as a shorter alternative to the longer hours of the Mazer Yeshiva Program (MYP), SBMP, like MYP, offers chavruta ([Torah study in pairs] learning and a Talmud lecture; yet whereas the MYP does not end until 3 PM, SBMP classes conclude at 1 PM, allowing students to begin their college courses earlier in the afternoon. Additionally, SBMP students are required to attend a morning halakha or machshava [Jewish thought] class prior to chavruta learning, and until now have not been required to attend shiur on Sunday.
Statistically, SBMP students make up 18 percent of the undergraduate Jewish studies body; MYP makes 45.7 percent, Isaac Breuer College (IBC) 25.5 percent; and the James Striar School (JSS and the new Mechina program) make up the last 9.5 percent.
Under the new adjustments, SBMP students will now study both halakha and Tanach two mornings a week, and have an hour and forty minute shiur on Sundays dedicated to Jewish thought. Students will also be required to take their SBMP studies for at least one-half of a credit, which must be transferred to their afternoon college credit load. The credit transfer is similar to the requirement in IBC, where students can transfer up to three credits a semester towards their degree.
The changes come on the heels of a thorough review, only recently approved by Yeshiva College's Academic Standards Committee (ASC); however, the changes will remain provisional until the faculty votes on whether or not to approve the transfer of credit into Yeshiva College or Sy Syms School of Business, the two undergraduate colleges.