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Body Text Indent 2##^\  P6QP#The Academic Calendar Review Committee chaired by Barbara Brown, University Librarian, spent the 20012002 academic year analyzing the implications of adopting a two semester academic calendar. Their committee report was turned over to the administration in the Spring of 2001 and it was made available to the faculty. A faculty wide conversation about the strengths and weaknesses of a conventional 2semester academic calendar and the current academic calendar in use at Washington and Lee followed, during the regularly scheduled meeting of the faculty on March 5th 2001 and at a special meeting of the faculty dedicated to the calendar on March 26th.  The faculty was asked to select between two different options distinguished by structure of the academic calendar and the extent of a faculty members teaching responsibility. One option was an academic calendar composed of two separate 14week long semesters with a faculty member required to teach six courses over the academic year. Alternatively, the current academic calendar of two 12week long terms followed by a six week Spring Term would be retained, with the proviso that a faculty member would teach 13 course over two years rather than the current arrangement in which they teach 14 courses. At the April 2, 2001 meeting of the faculty, the process of voting on the Calendar options was initiated and lasted for a period of days. With 191 of 199 eligible voters casting a ballot, the faculty voted 127 (66.5%) to 64 (33.5%) in favor of retaining the 12126 academic year. ) Body Text Indent 2) 2.Formation of the Spring Term Renewal Committee During the calendar debate, concerns about the quality of the 6week Spring Term were aired. The Spring Term Renewal Committee, composed of faculty and the University Registrar, was formed by the administration on May 15, 2001. This ad hoc committee, chaired by Art Goldsmith, was assigned the task of providing the administration with a set of recommendations to strengthen the Spring Term by the end of the 20012002 academic year   a. The Charge  The charge given the Spring Term Renewal Committee is presented as Appendix A. In the charge the committee was asked to address: X` hp x (#4` hp x (#1.the establishment of clear goals and objectives for the spring term 2.the chronic shortage of courses available to freshmen 3.the range of appropriate teaching models for the sixweeks term 4.mechanisms to ensure academic rigor during the spring term and to facilitate planning on the part of students and faculty 5.upper and lower bounds on student course loads during the spring term 6.models of the allocation of faculty teaching over a twoyear cycle to meet the teaching and scholarly goals of the faculty 7.the resources needed to implement the recommendations of the Committee 4` hp x (#` hp x (# The Chairperson of the Spring Term Renewal Committee (STRC) met with senior administrators on two occasions, to discuss the charge and to ascertain the parameters under which the committee was to operate, prior to the first meeting of the STRC. The senior administration made clear that it wanted the STRC to think creatively and boldly, as it attempted to identify ways to improve the Spring Term experience for all students, especially freshmen. The Committee was asked to think of solutions that could be quickly implemented that might have immediate payoffs as well as solutions that might take longer to implement. Moreover, committee members were asked to appreciate that not all solutions would need to entail additional expenditures.  The STRC was asked not to think of the course reduction as a mini sabbatical or as a leavesimply as a course reduction. The STRC was assured that some funds existed to implement those recommendations (especially if the need for additional faculty resources to service students in the Spring Term was established) and that each academic department would work out when course reductions for members of its faculty were to occur during the academic yearsubject to the proviso that the department serves its share of students during the Spring Term.   b. The STRC Schedule  The Spring Term Renewal Committee began its work in early June of 2001. The Committee met on 16 occasions during the 20012002 academic year: June 4; September 20, 21, and 28; October 19, and 25; November 1, and 29; December 6; January 18, and 25; February 1, 8, 14, and 28; and March 7, 2002.  In addition, a subcommittee (Bent, Goldsmith, Keen, and Rush) of the STRC met with President Boetsch, Dean Peppers and Dean Session on two occasions (October 26, 2001 and February 27, 2002) to provide an update on the accomplishments of the STRC and to receive feedback and guidance on the future course of the STRCs activities.  Another subcommittee of the STRC (Goldsmith, Bent, and Keen) also met with The Committee on Courses and Degrees on February 12th to inform this committee of some of the likely recommendations of the STRC and to discuss with the Committee what role it might play if these recommendations were adopted by the administration.   c. The STRC Working Procedures  The Spring Term Renewal Committee addressed its charge with a threepart operating procedure. First, the STRC spent considerable time identifying and acquiring the information it would need to properly evaluate the relevant issues. The Registrar worked diligently to provide the STRC with the data it desired. Second, the STRC analyzed the information collected with an eye toward understanding the facts regarding the Spring Term experience for faculty and students. The Committee discussed each aspect of the charges, and during its deliberations the data provided by the Registrar proved helpful.  # Body Text Indent 2##^\  P6QP#Finally, the STRC constructed a set of documentsthat it voted uponwhich contain its recommendations on how the administration should proceed in addressing some of the key charges placed before the Committee. In addressing some charges, the Committee opted to generate a menu of options that the administration might adopt. This approach was taken when the resolution of issues depended in large part on major decisions that only senior administrators and trustees could make. In addition, the STRC constructed some documents that contain thoughts about complex issues that would most likely need to be explored by a committee assigned to that issue or that would need to be handled through an administrative initiative. The purpose of these documents is to merely share ideas generated by the STRC with the administration, in the hope that this information would provide a richer understanding of the interrelationship of existing problems, possible solutions, and projected consequences and costs.  ) Body Text Indent 2) heading 1 UNDERSTANDING THE SPRING TERM EXPERIENCE: THE FACTS   heading 1 #XP\  P6QXP#  #^\  P6QP# 1.Why Do Underclass Students Want More Spring Term Options? # Body Text Indent 2##^\  P6QP#There is substantial anecdotal evidence, from the University Registrar and from students, that freshmen and sophomore students find it difficult to enroll in the Spring Term courses they would choose if they selected courses before senior and junior level students. There is a widespread perception that this situation is the result of too few Spring Term course slots for freshmen and sophomore students. What might account for the prevalence of this view? The STRC explored a number of possible developments that could lead to a shortage of course slots for freshmen and sophomore students in the Spring Term.  ) Body Text Indent 2) a. There is a General Shortage of Spring Term Courses # Body Text Indent 2##^\  P6QP# A prominent perception among faculty and students is that if a shortage of class seats exists for underclass students, it is because relative to the 12week terms, facultyteaching responsibilities for Spring Term decline by more than the decline in student demand for courses in the spring. In theory, student demand should fall from 4 courses to 2 (a 50% decline) while faculty teaching falls from 3 courses to 1 course or by 66%. Therefore, a shortage of class slots for students would be likely to emerge and it would be felt by those students who sign up for classes later in registration weekfreshmen and sophomores. The first question the STRC examined is whether this is an accurate depiction of what occurs during Spring Term.  Enrollment figures for Spring Term 2001, presented in Appendix B, reveal that many students enroll for fewer than six credit hours, with many students coupling an academic course worth 3credit hours with a 1credit physical education course. The STRC found that; 56% of seniors, 27% of juniors, 18% of sophomores, and 17% of freshmen, enrolled for 4 or fewer credit hours during the Spring of 2001. ) Body Text Indent 2) Thus, student demand is falling by far more than 50%much closer to the 66% reduction on the faculty side than the STRC had anticipated. Nevertheless, complaints from freshmen and sophomores about course availability Spring Term are common. This led the STRC to examine other possible explanations for the difficulties these students report. ` hp x (#4` hp x (# b. Faculty Teaching Preferences Produce a Shortage of Spring Term Courses for Underclass Students Body Text 2#^\  P6QP#4` hp x (#` hp x (# It is possible that facultyteaching practices have fostered the difficulties that freshmen and sophomores face when attempting to sign up for Spring Term courses. There are two views on how this could occur.  ` hp x (#4` hp x (#1. Faculty Prefer to Teach Advanced Students "Body Text 2"4` hp x (#` hp x (# It is possible that faculty members prefer to teach more advanced student during the Spring Term, so they design classes for these students. Hence, there are simply not a sufficient number of slots in the classes offered that are set aside or available for these studentsand this appears to be particularly acute for freshmen. The STRC did not conduct a formal empirical investigation of this hypothesis; rather it relied on years of anecdotal evidence accumulated by the Registrar to assume that there is some truth to this proposition.  The committee moved quickly, during the Fall of 2001, to offer the administration two recommendations to address this situation. The STRC recommended that: ` hp x (#` hp x (#"the Deans ask each Department to structure its course offerings for the spring of 2002 so that approximately 25% of the seats in their classes are allotted to freshmen and another 25% to sophomores. ` hp x (#` hp x (# ` hp x (#` hp x (#"and that the order in which students register for Spring Term be adjusted so that freshmen are able to select a course before sophomores select their second course. ` hp x (#` hp x (# These recommendations were adopted and implemented for the Spring Term 2002. Body Text 2#^\  P6QP#` hp x (#4` hp x (#2. Faculty Prefer to Teach Small Seminars "Body Text 2"4` hp x (#` hp x (# Another way in which faculty preferences might contribute to the difficulties the institution is experiencing in serving freshmen and sophomore students during the Spring Term that can be imagined. Suppose that faculty have a penchant for offering seminar courses in the Spring Term and these courses are planned for smaller class sizessay 15 or fewer. If virtually all faculty taught a relatively small number of students, some students, especially those signing up late in registration week, would find the available course offerings slim. The STRC collected and analyzed data for the Spring Term of 2001 to determine if there were evidence consistent with this hypothesis about course offerings. The evidence, presented in Appendix C is not favorable to this explanation for why underclass students believe the course slots available to them are less than satisfactory.  During the Spring Term of 2001, 64% of the departments (16 of the 25 departments) had average class enrollments that exceeded 15 students. Thus, if classes are smaller during spring term, they are not below the standard most faculty hold for the size of a seminar course at a Liberal Arts college of Washington and Lees stature. In addition, 28% of the departments on campus (7 of the 24) have average class enrollments during the Spring Term of at least 19. The findings we report in Appendix C imply that staffing shortfalls are an issue during Spring Term. 2.Are More Faculty Resources Readily Available for the Spring Term? # Body Text Indent 2##^\  P6QP#The evidence suggests that faculty resources in the Spring Term may be insufficient to accommodate all of the students readily. Assuming this is the case, can the University solve this problem by shifting existing faculty teaching resources from the Fall Term and from the Winter Term to the Spring Term? The STRC believed it was important to determine whether shifting teaching resources into the Spring Term from other terms were a viable option (however the STRC recognized that in situations where a single professor has the expertise needed to lead a sequence of two courses shifting is impossible). Therefore, the STRC conducted a formal analysis of this question. Our investigation reveled that, given the size of average enrollments during the Fall Term and the Winter Term, few departments would be in a position to engage in such a resource shift.  The Spring Term Renewal Committee assumed that departments in which average enrollments are at least 17 students per section are strained, and would face difficulty shifting resources to the Spring Term. During the 20012002 academic year, 40% of the departments were strained Fall Term, and 20% of the departments were strained Winter Term (Appendix C). Moreover, 12.5% of the departments were stressed Fall Term and an equivalent number were stressed Winter Term, by facing average class enrollments of more than 19 students per section. Thus, shifting faculty resources may not be a sufficient means of responding to the Spring Term staffing needs of the institution.  The data in Appendix C do not present a complete picture of the factors leading to academic stress. A department could have average enrollments that are below the strained or stressed level because it has few majors, but at the same time face large enrollments in service courses. In these departments there is an undercurrent of enrollment stress that is not captured by the data in Appendix C. ) Body Text Indent 2) The number of additional faculty resources needed Spring Term depends on what the institution is attempting to accomplish during the Spring Term, which in turn governs class size. Therefore, the STRC turned its attention to establishing the intent of the Spring Term and an associated set of guidelines that describe how the University could meet its philosophical aims during the Spring Term. heading 1 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE SPRING TERM: ADRESSING THE CHARGES   heading 1   1.Goals and Objectives Spring Term: Faculty Impact #XP\  P6QXP##^\  P6QP#What is the faculty trying to accomplish during the Spring Term, and how does that differ, if at all, from its work with students during the 12week terms? How might Spring Term courses help the institution meet its strategic academic goals? The STRC believed it was essential to answer these questions before addressing the issue of how many additional faculty resources would be needed for the Spring Term.  Spring Term Renewal Committee constructed a document entitled Goals and Objectives of the Spring Term, that articulates the academic aims of the Spring Term (charge #1). This document also contains the Committees thinking on appropriate pedagogical models for the Spring Term (charge #3), and how to promote academic rigor (charge #4).  The most important recommendations to the senior administration from the Spring Term Renewal Committee are contained in the Goals and Objectives of the Spring Term document (Appendix D). The recommendations offered in this document are intended to strengthen the Spring Term and to promote the Universitys Strategic Plan. The key features of the Goals and Objectives of the Spring Term document are that: ` hp x (#` hp x (#"spring Term course should be distinct from those offered in the other terms. ` hp x (#` hp x (# ` hp x (#` hp x (#"departments should be encouraged to schedule small classes that are conceived as seminars or as other forms of intimate learning experiences. ` hp x (#` hp x (# ` hp x (#` hp x (#"departments should continue to encourage their faculty to offer unique courses, especially interdisciplinary courses, study abroad, and community service oriented classes. "the Deans should establish a standard that faculty are expected to meet with students at least 2 hours per week per credit. "the administration should charge a committeeit could be a new standing committee or it could be the Committee on Courses and Degreesĩwith: ` hp x (#` hp x (# ` hp x (#4` hp x (##6X@DQ@#o#^\  P6QP#examination of all courses proposed for Spring Term to discern whether a course is consistent with the Goals and Objectives for Spring Term and #6X@DQ@#o#^\  P6QP#to hear petitions for variances from the guidelines associated with Spring Term courses. 4` hp x (#` hp x (#Appendix E suggests the type of information a committee might want to solicit from faculty, but is not a recommendation of the STRC. 2.Goals and Objectives Spring Term: Student Impact There is a widespread perception among students that the Spring Term is not a serious academic exerciseits the Goshen Term. The STRC was asked to offer recommendations that would promote rigor on the part of students (charge #4), and recommendations on the setting of upper and lower bounds on student course load during the Spring Term (charge #5). Recommendations from the Spring Term Renewal Committee to address these issues are contained in a document, voted upon by the STRC, entitled Student Rigor and the Spring Term. The key element of this document, Appendix F, is that students enrolled Spring Term: ` hp x (#` hp x (# "should be required to enroll for at least 6 credits and no more than 9 credits. ` hp x (#` hp x (# # Body Text Indent 2##^\  P6QP#The enrollment impact of implementing this recommendation is substantial. Recall that; 56% of seniors, 27% of juniors, 18% of sophomores, and 17% of freshmen, were enrolled in only 1 academic course during the Spring Term of 2001. If these students were required to take a second academic course then 484 additional spaces in 3 credit courses would be needed (75 for freshmen; 76 for sophomores, 114 for juniors, and 219 for seniors). Some of these students could find classes with low enrollment. In addition, requiring a student to take two academic courses might reduce the attractiveness of spending Spring Term in Lexington, leading to more students studying abroad. Suppose this reduced by 20% the number of additional spaces needed in 3 credit courses. Spring Terms student spaces would need to expand by 387. If these students were accommodated in classes with enrollments of 15, then the University would need to offer 26 additional sections . ) Body Text Indent 2) The Committee fully recognizes that this will exacerbate the pressures to increase Spring Term class size (to accommodate the additional student demand without hiring additional faculty to offer more sections), or the pressures to acquire more faculty resources for the spring term. Nevertheless, the committee is steadfast in its belief that allowing students to enroll for fewer than six credits leads to an impulse to behave as parttime students. heading 2#^\  P6QP# QUALITY OF THE FRESHMEN EXPERIENCE SPRING TERM  heading 2   # Body Text Indent 2##^\  P6QP#Are freshmen enrolled in courses that will help them establish a level of intellectual curiosity and critical thinking skills needed to enrich their college experience and to succeed after graduation from Washington and Lee? In the Committees view, the freshmen year is more than a fourth of a students college educationit is a special year. It is a year in which important habits and perspectives about the educational process develop, influencing in critical ways the remainder of a students educational experience. ) Body Text Indent 2) The committee recommends that a Freshmen Seminar Program be instituted at Washington and Leean idea recommended, without offering a structure or form, in the Institutional Long Range Plan adopted in 1989. The STRC has in mind small seminars for freshmen on topics selected by the faculty. One model would be to offer all of these classes during Spring Termgenerating a common experienceand to have this course substitute for a course in the General Education Requirements. These seminars would provide an ideal environment for students to become active partners in their education and to further develop their ability to read critically, develop complex arguments, and make a case for their perspective on paper and during discussions. These are the very skills that a liberal arts education should instill in an individual. Freshmen Seminars have the capacity to substantially enhance the quality of the freshmen experience at Washington and Lee, especially during the Spring Term, promoting retention and setting the stage for superior academic performance in subsequent years.  # Body Text Indent 2##^\  P6QP#The STRC envisions an arrangement where each department participates in the Freshmen Seminar Program by offering one or more of the 3235 sections needed to accommodate the freshmen class. Many departments are already teaching courses heavily subscribed by freshmen, so for them, it would be a matter of asking some faculty to modify their course to fit the objectives and structure of the Freshmen Seminar Program. Other departments serve few, if any, freshmen. These departments would have to shift resources from existing courses to design and offer a course or two that met the needs of the Freshmen Seminar Program. ) Body Text Indent 2) If during the spring term freshmen are crowded into courses with average enrollments of 2025 students, due to the fact that many courses are closed to them, then moving them into seminars with enrollments capped at 15 students would create a need to offer an additional 250 spaces. Hence, to implement a Freshmen Seminar Program the institution would need to make available another 17 sections during the Spring Term.  heading 2#^\  P6QP# PRESSURES TO EXPAND THE SIZE OF THE FACULTY   heading 2 #XP\  P6QXP#  #^\  P6QP#The size of the Washington and Lee faculty is currently insufficient to either enforce full time status for students during the spring termwithout allowing class size to rise markedlyor to initiate a Freshmen Seminar Program.  # Body Text Indent 2##^\  P6QP#Faculty teaching responsibilities will fall from 14 courses over two years to 13 courses, beginning in the 20022003 academic year. This means that facultyteaching resources will decline by 7% over a twoyear cycle. This development will place additional pressures on the institution to serve its students without acquiring additional faculty resources. ) Body Text Indent 2) 1.13/2 and the Timing of the Course Release # Body Text Indent 2##^\  P6QP#The impact of the long academic year at Washington and Lee on both the quality of the academic experience for students during the Spring Term and on the scholarly activity of the faculty were prominent themes during the faculty discussion of the virtues of maintaining the 12126 calendar. During the discussion a significant minority of the faculty characterized themselves as tired by the beginning of the Spring Term. For these faculty, it appears that they become progressively more tired as the term advances and they have an impulse to turn their attention to some mental and physical replenishment and to conducting research to advance their contribution to their disciplines. ) Body Text Indent 2) The reduction in the teaching load conjured up in the minds of many faculty a release from Spring Term teaching responsibilities every second or third year (of course, some faculty members would want to teach every spring term due to the nature of the course they offer). An academic year in which a faculty member is released from Spring Term classroom duties means a relatively short academic year (i.e., teach 6 courses during two 12week terms) followed by a relatively long academic year (seven courses taught over 3 terms running from September through late May). Over a twoyear period this would result in a teaching calendar that is somewhat comparablein terms of total weeks with teaching responsibilitieswith what faculty face at our peer institutions. Of course, if a third or a half of the faculty were relieved of Spring Term teaching, without an influx of new faculty, there would not be sufficient recources to meet the classroom needs of the student body. Therefore, following the February meeting of the Board of Trustees President Boetsch informed Department Heads that: ` hp x (#` hp x (#"faculty may not take a Spring Term course release during the 20022003 academic year. ` hp x (#` hp x (# ` hp x (#` hp x (#"there will be limited resources available to enhance faculty resources for the 20022003 academic year. ` hp x (#` hp x (# This unanticipated development of limited resources has raised concern amongst members of the STRC and the faculty at large that class size will grow during the 20022003 academic year, enlarging the teaching work load for faculty who do not have a course release and mitigating some of the expected advantages for faculty with a one course reduction in teaching. 2.13/2 and the Size of the Faculty Confining course releases to the Fall Term and to the Winter Term will prevent further deterioration of faculty resources in the Spring Term, but will create additional staffing challenges, especially for departments with large faculties that already face large enrollments during the 12week terms. Consider a department with 10 faculty. Moving to 13/2 from 14/2 means that in any given year they will lose 5 course sectionspractically an entire faculty member. If class enrollments are large, then they will need to hire an additional faculty member, let each class grow in size or begin to move away from small classes to offering some university style large lecture courses.  The Deans recognized that 13/2 would result in faculty resource pressures. During the fall of 2001 each department was asked to conduct a hypothetical experiment and determine how they expected to respond to 13/2. If they needed additional faculty resources, they were asked to argue why and how much. The Chairperson of the Spring Term Renewal Committee attended a meeting of Department Heads in the College on November 11, 2001 to discuss the likely impact of 13/2 on faculty resources. At this meeting it was apparent that approximately 17 additional faculty would be needed in the College. A similar meeting of Williams School Department Heads revealed that they would need 3 additional faculty. Thus, the move to 13/2 given current staffing has elicited a large request for additional faculty 20 new faculty positions ĩfrom the Department Heads who are responsible for staffing courses.  If a large number of new faculty members were to be hired to meet the needs of students during the Fall Term and the Winter Term, (to off set faculty losses during these terms, since course releases are confined to the two 12week terms), many additional resources would be available during the Spring Term. However, this configuration may be less than ideal for some departments. For departments with heavy demand in the 12week termsdepartments that teach large numbers of students survey courses that are not offered Spring Term (such as English and Economics)they will have excess resources in the Spring Term and a shortage of resources during the 12week terms. 3.Faculty Resource Pressures: The Bottom Line The movement to 13/2, along with a need to reduce class size during the 12week terms (which is unlikely to be met by simply reallocating students to less subscribed courses given existing enrollment levels), and the desirability of implementing a Freshmen Seminar Program at Washington and Lee mean that 2030 additional faculty members will be needed. This raises a number of questions about other ways to avoid pressures on faculty resources, such as reducing student demand for faculty resources. heading 2#^\  P6QP#  ADRESSING THE FACULTYSTUDENT IMBALANCE  heading 2   The Spring Term Renewal Committee spent considerable time discussing how Washington and Lee might address the imbalance between faculty resources and student needs. The STRC explored this issue by attempting to identify reasonable ways to reduce student demand and by seeking to discover sensible approaches to expand the size of the faculty. The STRC opted to present the administration with a menu of alternative ways to redress the issue of facultystudent imbalance. For each item on the menu we note the implications on the academic experience for students, both positive and negative, as well as the potential costs and the likely time frame for adoption. At the end of the day, the administration will face some tough choices.  1. How might student demand be reduced while maintaining the Spring Term? The number of credits needed for graduation could be reduced from 40 to 36. Note that there might be room to consider doing this without severely damaging the quality of a W&L degree, since we currently require students to take 40 courses lasting 12 weeksa total of 480 weekswhile student who complete 32 courses lasting 14 weeks receive 448 weeks of education (at those institutions that require students to complete 40 courses each lasting 14 weeks5 courses per termstudents accumulate 560 weeks of education by graduation). If students at Washington and Lee were asked to complete 36 courses lasting 12 weeks, they would complete 432 weeks of education prior to graduationthey would only receive 3.5% fewer weeks of education than their peers educated in a traditional twosemester calendar who are required to complete 32 courses.  If Washington and Lee were to require only 36 courses for graduation, how students go about collecting their 36 courses might have a significant impact on the educational environment at Washington and Lee during the Spring Term. For instance, a standard arrangement for students could be to take 4 courses during each of the 12week terms and a single class during spring termthe Spring Term Renewal Committee is not excited about this arrangement. This layout has the potential to produce a social situation that adversely impacts the educational goals of the institution by maintaining the perception that student rigor is lacking Spring Term. Alternatively, students could be required to spend only two spring terms in Lexington (presumably the freshman and one other spring term) over the course of their educationexceptions could be made for athletes in season.  # Body Text Indent 2##^\  P6QP#This is an inexpensive way to address the imbalancein terms of dollars and centsand it could be implemented within a reasonable period of time. However, this approach leads to students receiving fewer weeks of education, unless they make educational use of the spring terms they spend away from Lexington. Moreover, if the courses students take during Spring Term are more international, more interdisciplinary, and smaller than the courses they ordinarily take during the 12week terms, then the educational loss might be substantial. ) Body Text Indent 2) A variant of this model is to reduce graduation requirements to 38 courses by graduating seniors earlier in the academic year , possibly during the first or second week of the Spring Term. Relative to reducing graduation requirements to 36 courses, this approach would close less of the gap between the demand for course seats emanating from students and the number of seats in classes that are provided, but at the same time the educational costs to students in terms of education forgone would be smaller.  Graduating seniors early and reducing graduation requirements to 36 courses along with requiring that a student spend only two spring terms at Washington and Lee has a number of advantages while keeping low the opportunity cost of education foregone. The primary benefits of this approach is that Spring Term demands on the faculty would be substantially reduced, allowing a large share of the faculty to regularly have a course release during Spring Term.  The STRC also discussed the possibility of students receiving credit for internships off campus, which would reduce the number of students seeking to enroll in classes offered on campus. Rules and procedures would have to be established by the Committee on Courses and Degrees, and it is unclear whether enough students would take advantage of this opportunity to have a significant impact on enrollment pressures.  The Spring Term Renewal Committee also explored how the student faculty imbalance could be addressed by increasing the availability of faculty resources.  2. How might facultyteaching resources be expanded? The Spring Term Renewal Committee discussed three ways to increase faculty resources that the administration might find attractive: ` hp x (#` hp x (#"hire enough additional tenure track faculty2030to meet a desired average enrollments targets for each term. ` hp x (#` hp x (# ` hp x (#` hp x (#"hire adjunct faculty, as Visiting Professors, on an as needed basisour current practice so long as sufficient resources are available. ` hp x (#` hp x (# ` hp x (#` hp x (#"develop and implement an extensive Postdoctoral Program at Washington and Lee. ` hp x (#` hp x (#  a. Hire significantly more tenure track faculty  Hiring significantly more tenure track faculty is the ideal way to expand seats in courses available to students, for most departments. This approach facilitates a stronger academic program, in each of the terms, and promotes international and interdisciplinary education. Moreover, this development promises to strengthen the academic reputation of Washington and Lee. In the view of the Committee other methods of eliminating the facultystudent imbalance should be compared with the solution offered by hiring a sufficient number of additional tenure track faculty, or combined with this approach. Other solutions will be less expensive and take less time to implement, but they will also contribute less to the ideals espoused by Washington and Lee that drew to its campus the existing faculty.  b. Hire more visiting faculty  Expanding the practice of hiring adjunct faculty on an asneeded basis is a viable alternative. This model provides flexibility, can be implemented immediately, and is relatively low in direct cost. In addition, it provides an opportunity to hire faculty who can contribute, at least temporarily, to international and interdisciplinary mission of Washington and Lee. Unfortunately, the costs to the existing faculty of locating and recruiting visitors each year are a distraction that may compromise the educational and research activities of the permanent faculty. Visiting faculty need to be schooled up on the academic traditions of Washington and Lee, and it may take them a while to become comfortable with the Socratic method of teaching that is popular on campus. Thus, the full cost of the adjunct model may be close to the full costs of the tenure track model. c. Establish a Postdoctoral Fellowship Program # Body Text Indent 2##^\  P6QP#Another approach, heretofore unconsidered by institutions such as Washington and Lee, would be to establish an extensive postdoctoral program. The STRC has in mind a situation where the Postdoctoral Fellows would be expected to join the Washington and Lee faculty for 2 years and might teach 4 courses per year. This program would have the potential to attract qualified candidates, especially newly minted Ph.D.s who seek careers as faculty in a liberal arts setting. The combination of flexibility and low cost suggest this option warrants serious attention, especially if it could serve as a channel to a smaller teaching load which may be on the horizon for Washington and Lee. ) Body Text Indent 2) A postdoctoral program could be set up to solicit applications from candidates from throughout the United States, even outside of the U.S. An alternative would be to establish a partnership with one or more regional research institutionssuch as the University of Virginia and the University of North Carolinaand give candidates from these institutions preferential treatment. The advantage of this latter arrangement is that it has the potential to secure funding from foundations. Appendix G contains a detailed discussion of the costs and benefits associated with initiating a Postdoctoral Fellows#XP\  P6QXP# #^\  P6QP#Program in partnership with a highly regarded research institution. heading 2#^\  P6QP# 13/2, SPRING TERM, AND THE INSTITUTIONS STRATEGIC GOALS   heading 2   The link between the health of the Spring Term and the strategic Goals of Washington and Lee influenced many of the conversations held by the Spring Term Renewal Committee. The members of the STRC care deeply about the importance of finding ways for the institution to address the challenges posed by the Spring Term while simultaneously promoting progress toward realization of the three components of the Universitys Strategic Plan: greater internationalization of the curriculum, greater interdisciplinary education, and enhancing the academic reputation of Washington and Lee. 1. Fall Term and Winter Term Course Reductions: Impact on Internationalization and Interdisciplinary Education The STRC is gravely concerned that if the imbalance between faculty resources and student demand is not resolved, the transition to a smaller teaching load will adversely effect the institutionthis is especially true if course reductions are taken exclusively in the Fall and Winter Terms. The logic of the committee is as follows: ` hp x (#` hp x (#"departments will have an impulse to teach core courses in the Spring Termwhich will undermine the distinctiveness of the Spring Term and lead to the Spring Term becoming a poor version of the Fall and Winter Terms. ` hp x (#` hp x (# ` hp x (#` hp x (#"class size will grow in whatever term faculty resources have declined, and class sizes are already larger than desired. This will place pressure on faculty to reduce time intensive teaching exercises such as mentored writing and problem solving exercises, which are effective learning devices. ` hp x (#` hp x (# ` hp x (#` hp x (#"departments will circle the wagons and protect their majorswhich means they will offer fewer interdisciplinary courses. ` hp x (#` hp x (# ` hp x (#` hp x (#"there will be greater awareness of the opportunity cost of running supervised study abroadin that fewer students are taught on campus during spring termleading to pressures to reduce one of the most enriching educational opportunities available to students and to the faculty at W&L. ` hp x (#` hp x (# ` hp x (# (# Thus, there is a sense of urgency or anxiety in the Spring Term Renewal Committee that as an educational community we take action to resolve the studentfaculty imbalance in a timely fashion.  (#` hp x (# 2. Fall Term and Winter Term Course Reductions: Impact on Research Faculty research is the primary vehicle behind growth of the institutions academic reputation. Reducing the number of courses a faculty member is assigned to teach can free up additional time to engage in research. However, if the classes faculty are teaching become substantially larger, due to the course reduction, additional time will be needed to grade assignments and much of the anticipated benefits of the course reduction on research productivity will be lost. A Spring Term course reduction is likely to have a bigger effect on the scholarly output of a faculty member than an equivalent course reduction during the Fall Term or the Winter Term. In a 6course teaching year a Spring Term course release will give a faculty member a 4month block of time to allocate toward research with few distractions. If a Spring Term course reduction were coupled with a termlong sabbatical leave, the faculty member would have a period of 9 months during which to focus on research. Therefore, the members of the STRC believe that each faculty member should have an opportunity to take a course reduction during the Spring Term at least once over two cycle of 13/2once every 4 years. heading 2#^\  P6QP# CONCLUSION  heading 2   The Spring Term Renewal Committee was charged with offering recommendations on how the institution might improve the quality of the Spring Term experience. The STRC was asked to offer ideas on how to promote faculty and student rigor, and enhance curricular options for freshmen. The Committee was also asked to provide guidance on appropriate teaching models for the Spring Term. The Spring Term Renewal Committee was assigned the task of identifying the resources needed to strengthen the Spring Term and to offer ideas on how the movement to an arrangement where faculty teach thirteen courses over two years rather than fourteen course can be sequenced to facilitate the teaching and research objectives of the faculty. The STRC has carried out its charge since ways to address each of the obstacles to promoting a stronger Spring Term are offered in this report.  Appendix A #XP\  P6QXP#May 15, 2001 To:. From:Larry Boetsch Larry Peppers Dear xxx: You will recall that the recent faculty vote to retain the current academic calendar as that which most adequately ensures our curricular objectives also resulted in the expression of the facultys desire to better exploit the advantages of spring term and correct its weaknesses. We write to invite you to participate in that important process by serving on the ad hoc faculty Spring Term Renewal Committee under the leadership of Professor Art Goldsmith. The term of the appointment is the 200102 academic year, but you will be called to a preliminary meeting later this spring term. The Committee will develop strategies and recommendations to strengthen the spring term consistent with the implementation of our current strategic academic goals and objectives. It will address: 1)the establishment of clear goals and objectives for the spring term 2)the chronic shortage of courses available to freshmen 3)the range of appropriate teaching models for the sixweeks term 4)mechanisms to ensure academic rigor during the spring term and to facilitate planning on the part of students and faculty 5)upper and lower bounds on student course loads during the spring term 6)models of the allocation of faculty teaching over a twoyear cycle to meet the teaching and scholarly goals of the faculty 7)the resources needed to implement the recommendations of the Committee The overall goal of the Committee is to seek ways by which we, as an academic community, can better avail ourselves of the opportunities presented to faculty and students by our calendar. The Committee is expected to solicit ideas and work interactively with all of the stakeholders. It will present a final report to the Deans who, after consultation with faculty, will place the report and its recommendations before the President. We hope that you will agree to participate in the work of this group and anticipate your response to Dean Boetsch at your earliest convenience. Cc:Art Goldsmith Larry Peppers heading 2#^\  P6QP# Appendix B  heading 2   #XP\  P6QXP#1yQQddObject #0000Qy#^\  P6QP#  Appendix C #XP\  P6QXP# Average Class Size that Strained (more than 17 students per section) or Stressed (more than 19 students per section) Departments by Term: 20002001 Academic Year  hVZZVrrF@@@@@VZZVrrF@@@@@h ""DEPARTMENTFALL TERM WINTER TERMSPRING TERMAnnual Ave >15""Accountingheading 1 Stressed  heading 1  Strainedheading 1 Stressed  heading 1  yes""ArtYes""BiologyStrainedheading 1 Stressed  heading 1  Yes""Chemistryheading 1 Stressed  heading 1  Yes""Classics""Computer SciencesYes""EastAsian Lang.""EconomicsStrainedheading 1 Stressed  heading 1  Strainedyes""EnglishStrainedStrainedheading 1 Stressed  heading 1  yes""Geologyyes""German""Historyyes""Journalismyes""MathStrainedyes""ManagementStrainedyes""Music""Physics/Engineering""Philosophyheading 1 StressedStressedStressed  heading 1  yes""PoliticsStrained yes""Public Speaking Stressed ""Psychology Stressed ""ReligionStrained yes""Romance Lang. ""Sociology/Anth.heading 1 Stressed heading 1 Stressed yes""Theatre` ` hp x (# #^\  P6QP#  Appendix D THIS DOCUMEDNT CONTAINS RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE SPRING TERM RENEWAL COMMITTEE  Title #XP\  P6QXP# SPRING TERM: GOALS AND OBJECTIVES  Title Unique course offerings, academic rigor, and novel pedagogy are the core values of the Washington and Lee Spring Term. In 1991, John Elrod as Vice President of Academic Affairs captured the role the Spring Term should play in the institutions academic mission when he wrote Body Text 2#^\  P6QP#` hp x (#` hp x (##XP\  P6QXP#The deepest appeal and value of the spring term for both faculty and students is the unique academic environment that it creates. It is not one more term just like the other two, and its difference lies not in the fact that it is simply and only a term that is half the length of the other two. This quantitative difference allows in fact an interesting and challenging qualitatively different academic environment. When the terms qualitative novelty is best utilized, course content, the pedagogies by which subject matter is opened up, and the academic work completed by students differ significantly from the fall and winter terms. "Body Text 2"footerX` hp x (# (#  (# ` hp x (# footerHis vision is as relevant today as then. Our quest is to make his ideals a reality. He envisioned the Spring Term as a period of intellectual engagement as enriching for faculty as for students. The Spring Term Renewal Committee recommends that the administration: ` hp x (#` hp x (#"establish a standing committee, the Spring Term Committee, composed of appointed faculty and the University Registrar, and charge this committee with: the examination of all courses proposed for Spring Term to discern whether a course is consistent with the Goals and Objectives for Spring Term courses; the resolution of petitions for variances from the guidelines associated with Spring Term courses. Alternatively, the charge for the Spring Term Committee could become part of the tasks handled by The Committee on Courses and Degrees. "require that Spring Term courses be unique to the Spring Term and not be duplicated in the Fall or Winter Terms. [(1) Departments may have to work with the Registrar and with the Courses and Degrees Committee to renumber certain coursessuch as Special Topics courses, and (2) faculty wanting to teach a Spring Term course during the Fall Term or Winter Term and faculty wanting to offer a course during the Spring Term that is offered Fall Term or Winter Term may petition the appropriate committee. A supporting letter from the department head should be included in the petition.] ` hp x (#` hp x (# ` hp x (#` hp x (#"require that Spring Term courses be organized according to principles appropriate to their unique pedagogy, not necessarily imitating the traditional arrangements that characterize Fall and Winter Term courses. A standard form, attached to this document, would elicit that information for use by the Spring Term Committee (or C&D). [A faculty member who proposes a course not meeting with students at least 2 hours per weekper credit must petition the appropriate committee. A supporting letter from the department head should be included in the petition.] ` hp x (#` hp x (# ` hp x (#` hp x (#"encourage departments to schedule small classes that are conceived as seminars or as other forms of intimate learning experiences. Some departments may want to explore offering some larger courses to accommodate more opportunities for small classes. [Proposals to teach a large course must be submitted to the appropriate committee. A supporting letter from the department head should be included in the petition.] "continue to encourage unique and distinctive course offerings, especially interdisciplinary courses, study abroad, and community service oriented classes. ` hp x (#` hp x (# In addition to traditional versions of academic learning in the disciplines, the Spring Term should also feature opportunities for alternative learning experiences. The Spring Term Renewal Committee recognizes that these student endeavors must be as well designed and as rigorously conceived as traditional courses. Some existing programs, such as the Washington ( D.C.) Term Program and numerous Washington and Lee facultyled offcampus trips, exemplify these alternative offerings. The Spring Term Renewal Committee envisions adding to these opportunities for students to learn: through delivering or sharing knowledge and expertise, as research assistants (mentored by a faculty member); through community service activities; by working as teaching assistants; and by participating in offcampus internships. [Students should be able to earn academic credit through active learning experiences, especially offcampus internships, conducted outside of a formal class. The Committee on Courses and Degrees should be charged with establishing credit limits and should establish appropriate guidelines for credit to be awarded]. Thus, the Spring Term Renewal Committee urges the Deans to provide assistance and incentives to reach the desired norms and to develop appropriate teaching practices by sponsoring an array of events and programs, including: ` hp x (#` hp x (#"specialized workshops on how to facilitate and evaluate alternative learning experiences. "more general teaching workshops within and across the disciplines, for discussion of teachingrelated issues. footerX` hp x (# (#  (# ` hp x (# footer` hp x (#` hp x (#"a voluntary mentoring program, for new and recently hired faculty. ` hp x (#` hp x (# ` hp x (#` hp x (#"workshops on developing Freshman Seminars characterized by creative topics and pedagogy. "workshops on creating or restructuring courses in accordance with the Spring Term Goals and Objectives. These might include courses that entail teamteaching, supervised study abroad, interdisciplinary education, or adventuresome departures from traditional course offerings. ` hp x (#` hp x (# ` hp x (#` hp x (#"summer grants (in addition to the Glenn Grant program) to create or restructure courses in accordance with the Spring Term Goals and Objectives.  ` hp x (#` hp x (#Finally, the annual Faculty Activities Report should be modified to include a section that asks about teaching practices during Spring Term, reading, Describe your pedagogical style in the Spring Term and compare this to the approaches you ordinarily adopt Fall Term, and Winter Term. The Spring Term Renewal Committee recognizes that traditional pedagogies can be highly effective learning tools in many circumstances and encourages the creative use of such pedagogies, especially adapted to the unique context of the Washington and Lee Spring Term. #^\  P6QP# Appendix E  Title #XP\  P6