University of Virginia Library

Duke's New Curriculum Plan
Removes Uniform Requirements

By Chuck Woody
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

A curriculum designed to
guarantee the individuality of the
student by abolishing uniform
course requirements has been
installed at Duke University. The
system of measuring progress by
semester hours has been replaced
by four semester courses.

"The curriculum has been
divided into three programs," said
Craig Kessler, chairman of the
academic affairs committee of the
Associated Students at Duke
University in an interview with The
Cavalier Daily.

"Program I will have no uniform
course requirements," he said. "In
his freshman year a student will
take courses in social science,
natural science, foreign language
and humanities.

Sophomore Year

In his sophomore year a student
will take a requirement in two of
the three areas of humanities, social
science and science.

Normally, a student would take
required courses in science,
mathematics or history, with no
choice in the actual subject, for one
or two years. Under the Duke
theory, the requirements are not
specific. The general categories
must be fulfilled but there are no
courses all freshmen must take.

The Duke system is designed to
pull the student in fewer directions
and to free teachers to participate
in the concept Duke calls "learning
experience."

Program I

Under Program I the junior and
senior years are devoted to a senior
thesis or independent study, Mr.
Kessler said. "One course can be
devoted to the senior thesis or for
independent research in a science
course," he said. "For example, a
student could live for a year in a
ghetto doing independent research
or study abroad or work in a
government job in Washington and
get credit for it."

Three seminar-type classes will
be required in addition to the four
classes. "Usually this type of
discussion class with a small
enrollment is not available to the
freshmen, only to honor students,"
Mr. Kessler said.

Start Major

Program II is designed for
entering students who know what
they want to major in. "A student,
for example, goes to the chemistry
department and is under the wing
of the department for guidance,"
Mr. Kessler explained. "If he is
smart he can start in independent
research immediately," he added.

Duke estimates about one in 10
students will qualify initially for
Program II.

Program III is an experimental
college still in the planning stage.
The experiment will have professors
living in the co-ed dormitories.
Plans are still vague, however, Mr.
Kessler pointed out.

Big Advantage

"The advantage to this system is
that Duke's curriculum is rigid, and
this makes it more flexible. The
new curriculum changes do not
emphasize grades," he said. "You
have to pass a certain number of
courses with a "C" minus grade.
However, we are changing to a new
grade system as soon as we can get
a report on the success of Yale and
its system."

The research committee
received $25,000 for the study
from a Methodist Board group in
North Carolina. Mr. Kessler said
money from a Ford Foundation
grant to the school and funds from
the student government also were
used.

"The faculty has been very
receptive to our plans," he said.
"We originally wanted to knock out
all language requirements." The
faculty agreed to give proficiency
tests to determine if a student can
go immediately into an advanced
class or by-pass the requirement.

Failure?

"The faculty said they would
not keep somebody from
graduating if they fail a language,"
Mr. Kessler said. "For some reason,
33 per cent of the students at Duke
flunk a foreign language, compared
to a 15 per cent average at other
schools," he said. "This is just
Duke's own problem. I don't know
whether it's the departments or just
that the courses are hard."

The curriculum change was
brought about at Duke by
student-faculty agreement. "The
faculty felt the caliber of students
here are as good as the ones who go
to Harvard and Yale; they have just
as good qualifications," he said.
"This is a recognition of the
maturity and responsibility of the
students by the faculty."