From: hrubin@pop.stat.purdue.edu (Herman Rubin)
Subject: Re: Curriculum Cutbacks
Organization: Purdue University Statistics Department
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1993 19:53:14 GMT

In article <93005.223602U38026@uicvm.uic.edu> <U38026@uicvm.uic.edu> writes:
>Curriculum Cutbacks

>Throughout the university students are feeling the effects of sharp
>cutbacks in the curriculum.  Overcrowded classrooms, fewer discussion
>sections, overburdened TA's and fewer professors <197> all this
>undermines the quality of instruction and the education received by
>students.  At the same time, because not enough sections are offered and
>because entire courses are eliminated, students often cannot major in
>the field they want to; others have to stay at UIC 5-6 years (or more!)
>before they can get all the classes required for graduation.

You will not get any disagreement from me about this.  Most universities,
especially state universities, are to a considerable extent "rated" by
the legislators on how "efficient" a job they are doing, and the 
appropriations go down while the demands on the faculty go up.  In
addition, costs of heating and cooling, massive increases in the costs
of medical care for the employees, costs of complying with federal
regulations, etc., go skyrocketing.  Complain to your legislators.

>Students in every department tell about the deteriorating quality of
>instruction.  During the first week of this semester, many students
>found their section combined with other sections, doubling or even
>trebling the size of the class.  Many freshmen and sophomores are in
>classes of 200 plus students.  Even upper-level courses are overflowing.
>Many students also report that discussion sections have been eliminated,
>so that their only contact with an instructor is in an overcrowded
>lecture hall.

See above.  Those providing the money do not see the effect on the quality
of education.  That students get less out of a course does not show up in
any figure available anywhere.  That the undergraduates from American
universities cannot handle graduate programs which they could in the past
just leads to calls to "adjust" these programs so that the American students
can take them.  If this continues for long, there will no longer even be a
reasonable supply of faculty; right now, if we want good new faculty, we
have to rely mostly on foreigners.  This was very definitely not the case
a generation ago.

>Along with this, some professors are increasingly unavailable to help
>students because of their research obligations.  TA's are overburdened
>with school work, teaching and also conducting their professor's
>research.  Students who need <169>hands on<170> instruction can't get
>it; many end up dropping various classes or getting poor grades as a
>result.  A student has a right to see and talk with the instructor, to
>get needed direction about <169>how to<170> and <169>what to do<170>
>when faced with homework problems.  Students need an opportunity to ask
>questions, engage in dialogue and get a thorough understanding of
>concepts.  But these <169>basics<170> of education are becoming harder
>to get at UIC.

If you want faculty who can keep up with the changes, and teach quality
courses instead of plug-and-chug, you need to have the researchers as
the main group in charge, and this means having substantial numbers of 
graduate assistants.  Also, prospective teachers should be strongly
encouraged to be TAs.  But so many people can only do so much.  Most
instructors, even top researchers, are not that hard to see, but they
are not going to baby-sit the students.  But it is often a great mistake
for a student to ask an instructor on how to do a problem.  I try to 
assign homework a full week in advance, so that a student can ask 
questions other than how to do a problem, and if that is what a 
student is after, I will refuse.  The problems will be gone over,
and other than contributing to a grade, being told how to do a problem
is likely to keep the student from learning.  But students more and more
seem to want to memorize a useless catalog of procedures.

	[More complaints about important services being underfunded.]

The country is spending itself into the poorhouse.  The demands for 
other social services, including quantity education for those who are
not capable of quality education, is cutting into the limited resources.
-- 
Herman Rubin, Dept. of Statistics, Purdue Univ., West Lafayette IN47907-1399
Phone: (317)494-6054
hrubin@snap.stat.purdue.edu (Internet, bitnet)  
{purdue,pur-ee}!snap.stat!hrubin(UUCP)