At meeting, USG looks to improve academic feedback

Class of 2014 Senator Dillon Sharp ’14 is leading a project that is working to increase the immediate usefulness of midterm evaluations. Sharp, who is working with the McGraw Center, said the goal is for faculty to be attentive to midterm evaluation feedback over the course of the semester, rather than only when planning the next semester’s classes.

Sharp said he hopes to make more progress by midterm week of next semester and to provide a recommendation to Dean of the College Valerie Smith.

Class of 2013 Senator Andrew Blumenfeld ’13 is leading two other projects. One, the SCORE Beautification Project, attempts to improve the aesthetics and usability of the site, which manages course enrollment. Blumenfeld said the Office of the Registrar is actively seeking student feedback in this endeavor.

Blumenfeld is also spearheading a project to survey students who dropped courses. Blumenfeld said he will be looking for trends in course dropping and the rates at which students drop during a given semester. Deputy Dean of the College Clayton Marsh ’85 will assist him in finding whether there are particular aspects of a course that make students more likely to drop it, Blumenfeld said.

The final two projects attempt to revamp the course suggestion process and to create a database of past practice exams for students to use when preparing for major tests.

Earlier in the meeting, Sharp and Rachael Baitel ’14, the president of the Princeton Performing Arts Council, which is a collection of different performing arts groups on campus, asked the Senate to support their petition to increase student consideration in the future development of the new Arts and Transit Neighborhood. For instance, Sharp said that if the Butler Amphitheatre had solicited student input, the space could have been designed better.

Sharp also added that the Performing Arts Council should be more able to use performance spaces when they are not in use by other groups.

The Senate voted 21-0 to have each of its members sign the letter.

Later, Athletics Committee Chair and Class of 2014 Senator Charissa Shen ’14 presented possible changes to Cane Spree, an athletic competition between freshmen and sophomores held in the fall.

Shen noted that historically, athletes have not been able to participate in Cane Spree because the event conflicted with practice. Next fall, Shen said she hopes to transform Cane Spree not only by providing athletes time to attend the contest, but also by having them prepare booths at which attendees would be able to play a particular sport.

Shen said that by having the event on a Sunday, athletes would be better able to attend the contest. However, Dining Services lacks the staff and resources to cater a barbeque on a Sunday, Shen said. The second solution is to extend the duration of Cane Spree, but to prolong the event would require additional lighting past daytime. Because Poe Field does not have lighting, Cane Spree will take place at the football stadium on Wednesday, Oct. 3 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

“Our goal is to build new excitement around Cane Spree,” Shen said.