University to phase out two-precept course structure

Beginning next fall, and in some cases this spring, courses with two precepts and one lecture will no longer be offered, said Howard Dobin, the associate dean of the college.

"We believe that students should be taught primarily by faculty rather than by preceptors," Dobin said.

He added that the policy was put in place several years ago, when it emerged from "several discussions of how faculty should be spending their time. It coalesced around the idea that faculty should spend about 50 percent of their time with students."

In the past, Dobin said, "as it came to our attention that courses were being taught in the two-precept, one-lecture format, we dealt with them on an individual basis. But we decided to send out a reminder this last term," in the form of an email sent to department chairs.

A few courses with two precepts are still being offered this spring, because they had been previously developed and taught in the two-precept form, but beginning next fall all courses must adhere to the new guidelines, Dobin said.

That will mean the restructuring of several established University classes, including NES 201: Introduction to the Middle East and HIS 373: The New Nation, taught by professors Michael Doran and R. Sean Wilentz respectively.

"I've not had time to think through the implications of the new directive," Wilentz said in an email, adding that he structured the course with two precepts "basically in order to make the students work harder. It is geared to the analysis of a wide range of contrasting primary historical documents.

"The aim is to spur students to master the basic developments of the era, grapple with historians' clashing views and, above all, to learn to think and write for themselves as historians," he said.

The course has received high overall student ratings, causing it to be listed as one of the "cool courses" in the Student Course Guide. There, one reviewer described it as "the best course I have taken so far."

Leah Hagedorn, a lecturer in the history department and one of the preceptors for Wilentz's course, said the two-precept format "just works beautifully for that course. It really, really does. It's been a wonderful experience."

Maya Lele '06, a student in NES 201, said she appreciated the two-precept structure.

"I think the format works well for a large introductory course because it is especially difficult for the professor to go into too much detail about the readings during lecture with so many students," Lele said. "Instead, he gives us the general background that we need to put the readings in context. There is a lot of reading, so two precepts per week allows us to spend more time on them."

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Dobin said that the policy was not intended to have adverse effects on current courses.

"We're not trying to punish anybody or take away ratings," he said. "It's really a simple principle — we think students should be taught as much as possible by faculty."