Council Stiffens Requirements For Sophomore Standing

The Faculty Council voted yesterday to stiffen Sophomore Standing requirements, increasing the Advanced Placement examination score students must achieve from 3 to 4.

The Council rejected an alternative proposal, submitted by Mack I. Davis, director of advanced standing, to increase the number of Advanced Placement exams required from three to four, as well as raise the score.

Steel and Blood

Council members unanimously agreed the requirements needed strengthening, a spokesman for the Council said yesterday, but most considered Davis's proposal unnecessarily stringent.

William Skocpol, associate professor of Physics and Faculty Council member, said yesterday a combined increase in the score and number of exams would severely reduce the number of students qualified.

But Skocpol said he supported raising the score, adding the Faculty's "general feeling is that student with 3's are barely squeaking by," while students with scores of 4 or 5 are adequately prepared to take advanced courses in their freshman year.

Skocpol added students who accepted advanced standing in Physics with a score of 3 on their Physics Advanced Placement exam had a "shabby" knowledge of the basic material.

The Committee on Undergraduate Education (CUE) recommended increasing the score form 3 to 4 instead of Davis' more demanding proposed requirement.

Peter Engel '81, a CUE member who attended the council meeting yesterday, said he "was pleased that after eight months of work, we finally got something through--it can be rare for CUE."