Then came that call from Derek Bok in 1986. After a short discussion in which they realized that no one at Harvard was assessing the effectiveness of undergraduate teaching, Bok offered to put up some seed money and Light formed the Harvard Assessment Seminars. The idea was not just to offer suggestions for better teaching and advising, but to make sure those ideas were generated from solid data. Eventually, Light also enlisted students to conduct interviews and interpret them. Light also cites the example of Bucks County Community College, near Philadelphia, which is very different from Harvard, but where professors readily accepted some suggestions that Light offered in a speech.
Light offers two possible explanations.
First, he says, faculty members simply haven't asked students what they thought. And, second, he credits both Presidents Bok and Rudenstine with encouraging the project. If the president says it's important, then people will listen to that. I've been fortunate enough to have the strong support of two Harvard presidents. Rudenstine especially encouraged Light to look at diversity, which is covered in three of the book's nine chapters.