The Task Force on the Undergraduate Experience has made substantial changes to its initial proposal of establishing a college system at Tufts due to considerations of cost and student dissatisfaction with the mandatory residential component.
The revised proposal centers around four freshman residence halls, sometimes called "hubs," that would house half the entering first-years. The other half would live in halls geographically near the college hubs, and after freshman year, students could live wherever they wanted. In previous discussions surrounding the creation of the college system it was suggested that members of the hubs should live together for more than just one year. The revision, therefore, results in a shorter period of required residence within the college.
The choice to use the word "hub" was made because students and faculty might have preconceptions about the word "colleges" because of its use at other universities, Task Force Chair Gib Metcalf said. The terms "hub" and "college" are now often used interchangeably.
Student and faculty feedback on the Task Force's initial proposal prompted the alterations, Metcalf said. Students were displeased with limitations on where they could live, and faculty members were concerned about the significant costs involved. The Task Force decided to "cherry-pick the best elements" from the interim report's initial formulation of the colleges, Metcalf said.
Tufts' colleges would be "very different and distinctive," Metcalf said. As models, Tufts has looked to college systems at schools like Middlebury College, Princeton University, and Northwestern University. At these schools, the residential colleges serve as social centers and are populated mostly by underclassmen.
Metcalf envisions a similar setup for Tufts, where the colleges would function as a "home away from home" for off-campus students to keep them connected with the community. This role for the colleges would become increasingly important as fewer juniors are able to live on campus -- just 141 juniors, or 12 percent of the class, were offered on-campus housing next year. The college system would theoretically enable students living off-campus to maintain ties to their hub, allowing for a community feeling despite not living in Tufts housing.
Colleges would also have liaisons with groups on campus such as Athletics and Health Services and faculty affiliates who would organize events. Faculty affiliates would draw in other professors for pre-major advising, which would be entirely organized through the colleges.
Despite the Task Force's revisions, other problems with the college system remain. Professor and Task Force member Jim Glaser noted, "the natural layout of campus doesn't lend itself to four quadrants," a problem that may need to be addressed in the future.
Some of the elements praised by students are already being put into place. Many students expressed approval of the all-freshmen dormitories, and the Office of Residential Life and Learning recently announced that next year Houston Hall would be all-freshmen.
Students also liked the recommendations of organizing programming through residence halls and changing from having a class dean to having deans of advising that would follow students through all four years.
Financial issues were a consideration as well, since instituting a college system would require substantial additional resources. With a relatively small endowment, an operating budget that is extremely dependent on tuition, and a faltering economy, Tufts may not be in the position to make such large expenditures for quite some time.
Additionally, President Larry Bacow has said that it is "harder to raise resources for a college than for a [residential] hall" in a discussion of the issue at the Apr. 9 meeting of the Arts, Sciences & Engineering (AS&E) faculty.
But if Tufts were to establish a college system, there would be "tremendous naming opportunities" for donors, Metcalf said. "It's a terrific opportunity for a donor who wants to have a significant impact on undergraduate life here at Tufts."
Colleges would need a few basic facilities, such as offices for the dean of advising and college director and a lounge area for students and "affiliates" -- upperclassmen that do not live in their college -- to gather. Colleges might also have additional facilities like a caf?©, laundry room, or exercise room, but anything beyond the offices and the lounge "is just icing," Metcalf said.
The Task Force's proposals will remain subject to further revision, even after the final report is completed in May. For example, administrators may later decide to change the number of colleges, Metcalf said, just as Princeton has added colleges several times over the years.
The new system would likely require time for students, faculty, and administrators to mentally adjust to the new structure. "A college system would be a dramatic culture shift," Metcalf said. "It's probably unrealistic to expect people to instantly embrace it."
In an initial presentation at the Apr. 9 AS&E faculty meeting, not all professors were pleased with the changes to the proposed college system, however. "I think you should've stuck to your guns," said Professor Roger Tobin, who called the new proposal "a very pallid version" of the original formulation.
Tobin expressed consternation that the colleges would be merely an "administrative structure" that would have no real meaning for students. Tufts should "either do it -- really do it -- or not do it," Tobin said, referring to the creation of the college system.
The Task Force's final open student forum will be held at 7 p.m. today and will focus on students' reaction to the revised college system.
Barring any unforeseen obstacles, the Task Force will complete its final report in mid-May. "We're going for a ceremonial handoff of the final report at the May 14 faculty meeting to President Bacow," Metcalf said. After that, the "president, deans, and provost decide what's most important," he said.
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