Today, the Tufts Arts, Sciences and Engineering (ASE) Faculty will meet to vote on the proposals put forth by the Tufts Education Policy Committee (EPC) capping the number of pre-matriculation credits granted at Tufts from Advanced Placement (AP) courses and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses to five, restricting the use of AP credits to fulfill only one of the two courses for each distribution requirement, and asking individual academic departments to reevaluate their departmental policies towards AP credit.
The Education Policy Committee's recommendations came out of concerns of limited student access to AP programs, too many AP credits being granted, AP courses not being on par with college courses at Tufts, the "dilution" of a Tufts degree with too many pre-matriculation credits, and the actions of other universities limiting pre-matriculation credit.
While the proposals that the EPC has put out are well intentioned, they overlook the detrimental impacts that they will have on the Tufts education system. Furthermore, they go about trying to achieve their end goal of helping Tufts students obtain a quality college education in the wrong way. The proposals set forth will sacrifice academic depth and understanding for shallow exposure, hurting both AP students and non-AP students.
The EPC seems dead set on restricting the number of AP credits based on the increasing numbers of students coming in with AP credits and the growing trend among other "peer institutions" to limit AP credits. However, it would only make sense that with Tufts' growing academic reputation and admissions standards, high school students come in better credentialed and prepared with more college level courses and higher GPAs and SAT scores. Eager to follow other institutions, the EPC proposals fail to take into account the context for our own university's complex requirements and resources.
Capping the number of AP credits that Tufts students can bring in at five severely limits the option for Tufts students to be eligible for advanced standing, allowing them to graduate one or two semesters earlier. AP test credits are clearly less expensive than the cost a Tufts University credit ($86 for an AP test versus $4,672 for a full Tufts credit and $1,750 for a Tufts summer course). Jumbos should have the opportunity to accelerate if they have fulfilled the necessary requirements. This policy will also make it more difficult for students who wish to double major or complete a minor in a different academic concentration, an endeavor that a majority of Tufts undergraduates undertake.
Restricting the use of AP credit to fulfill only one of the two classes for each distribution requirement will also have unforeseen impacts on class enrollment, as well as the educational quality at Tufts University. Let's say that I am a biology major who is not mathematically inclined. My previous score of 5 on my AP Calculus BC exam would have exempted me from both distribution requirements in the Mathematical Sciences category. Now, the new policy will only give me a maximum of one credit in that area, and I will be forced to take another Math course. More Tufts students will be enrolled in introductory level courses when they have already been sufficiently exposed to the foundations of the distribution area. The administration and academic departments will struggle to allocate their resources via faculty and room space to either accommodate more upper level courses or introductory classes.
The Advanced Placement program is in no way perfect; however, it does bridge the intellectual gap between high schools and colleges. The Education Policy Committee should be asking instead why AP students aren't given more leeway in their placement at the college level, so that students who are not comfortable at a higher level are allowed to take a lower-level course. Why does Tufts not have a math placement exam? The absence of math placement exams also puts those non-AP students at a disadvantage. We have so many language placement exams yet none in other subject areas. Ideally, Tufts would not accept AP credits, but it simply is not practical without cutting down on the requirements we already have.
The EPC's proposal urging individual academic departments to re-evaluate their department's academic credit policy is the only logical proposal put forth that should be adopted by the ASE Faculty. This is a proposal that the TCU Senate overwhelmingly believes should be adopted and examined before any of the other proposals are even considered. For example, the Tufts academic departments could decide that only scores of 5s on the AP exam were worthy of Tufts credit. This would limit the number of students coming in with AP credit while bolstering Tufts' reputation. It is only fair to say that credit should not be granted for an AP course that does not correspond to the standards of a Tufts course. Who would think that Document Based Questions and Free Response Questions (lovingly nicknamed DBQs and FRQs) on the AP US History exam would ever be featured in a history class at Tufts? To my fellow APUSHers, I would never want to hear about Republic Motherhood and the Cult of Domesticity either. But in the same vein, if it meets the same standards as it does with most mathematics, natural sciences and languages, credit ought to be granted.
Tufts' academic departments would be better guardians of these credit policies than the Education Policy Committee, helping protect a Tufts degree while simultaneously helping students make the most out their education at Tufts. Tell your professors to vote no on capping the number of pre-matriculation credits and restricting distribution requirement credits.
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Edward Chao, a TCU senator, is a sophomore majoring in International Relations and economics.
