Generations of students unite in classes through community auditing program

Professors have referred to them as "model students". They are often the first ones to arrive at class. They rarely, if ever, miss a lecture. They take notes attentively. Some take as many as five classes in a semester, and they do their course reading religiously.

But instead of writing papers or final exams they offer the professors and students something different and valuable: perspective.

They are the community auditors.

Ruth Wilson, a retired community member who comes to campus twice a week to hear Professor Robert Darnton lecture in HIS 350, began auditing courses at the University long before the community auditing program officially existed.

She has been attending classes for so long that she proudly coined her close circle of fellow auditors "the gray tigers."

Community auditing existed on a de facto basis for many years before the Office of Community and State Affairs formalized the program in September of 1999.

Pam Hersh, University Director of the Office of Community and States Affairs, said that her office took on the auditing program when "it became clear that auditing was becoming a human relations issue."

Hersh noted that professors and students were concerned about the structure of the auditing program. With no regulations in place, auditors contacted professors directly or simply showed up for the courses they wanted to take.

Though this informal set-up was not an issue in the early days of auditing, problems arose when Princeton's elderly population — which produces most of the auditors — skyrocketed. Students sometimes could not get seats in popular classes, and professors received an overwhelming number of e-mails and inquiries from prospective auditors.

Hersh worked with Dean of the McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning Georgia Nugent, then an associate provost, to create the existing Community Auditing Program.

Under the current program, auditors register directly with CAP for classes. Professors can limit the number of auditors in their courses or close a course to auditors entirely. CAP charges a fee of $75 per course, which is waived if an auditor exhibits financial need.

One of the challenges for the auditing program is finding a balance between reaching out to the auditors and maintaining a focus on undergraduates, history professor Philip Nord said.

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"Our first duty as professors is to the undergraduates," he noted.

But with the right balance, Nord said CAP can be beneficial for all involved.

"I think it's wonderful to have people from different generations in the classroom," said Professor Litvak, who taught a class last year with almost as many auditors as students. "They show that learning is a constant, life-long process, not something that stops after four years."

And those generations include not only senior auditors but also au pairs from overseas and young area professionals.

The most popular departments among auditors are art history, English and history. However, interest in technology-related courses such as those in the computer science department has been "growing by leaps and bounds," noted CAP director Susan Weinkopff.

Auditors are enrolled in a total of 1,089 courses this semester. The most widely-attended courses this spring are ENG 362, with 42 auditors, followed by ART 211 with 37, and HIS 350 and POL 316, with 28 each.

Professor Sarah-Jane Mathieu of the history department and African-American studies program noted that auditors are often able to take courses in programs, such as African-American studies, that did not exist when they were in school.

Mathieu recalled one of her lectures — concerning African-American soldiers in World War II — in which an auditor recounted how he was almost court-martialed when he protested an officer's behavior toward an African-American soldier.

Aside from occasional problems with seating or lack of handouts, students seem to support the auditing system.

"I've had no bad experience with the auditors being in classes," said Marissa Murphy '04.

"In my larger classes sometimes no one would want to speak up in lecture, and auditors would ask a question and keep the ball rolling."

The auditors are equally enthusiastic about their time in the college classroom.

"The opportunity for continued learning and growth is amazing, and we're glad to be able to have that opportunity," said Wilson.

Long-time auditor Dick Eiger routinely gathers with the other auditors from his French literature class, FRE 361 to drink coffee and talk about the books they've read in class.

"This, to me, is what Princeton is all about," said Hersh. "We have enormous educational resources and can share them if it is done right."