To the editor:
As co-chairs of the Education Policy Committee (EPC), an Arts, Sciences, and Engineering (ASE) committee of faculty and students, we would like to correct some misunderstandings in an article that appeared in The Tufts Daily on Wednesday, Feb. 21, about the proposed schedule change. Contrary to the article's headline and implications, the proposed change is an initiative of the administration, not of EPC. One source of confusion could be that Dean Inouye, an ex officio EPC member who was interviewed for the article, was representing the administration, rather than EPC, in his interview.
EPC has not taken a position for or against changing the block schedule, although it has provided the administration with comments on the schedule, and has forcefully advocated that there be extensive consultation with the entire campus community. Such consultation is vital because changing the schedule has important implications for learning, teaching, and scholarship, and any new schedule will need student and faculty input in the coming months. Only after such widespread consultation will EPC consider taking a position on the desirability of the change.
Eric Todd Quinto
Department of Mathematics
Roger Tobin
Department of Physics
