Social Studies, History and Lit Tutors Foresee Difficulties With CUE Reforms

Tutors in the Committees of Social Studies and History and Literature said yesterday they will face difficulties in conforming to proposed tutorial reforms because senior faculty associated with those concentrations are drawn from many departments.

The reforms, passed by the Committee on Undergraduate Education (CUE) last week, call for senior faculty members to supervise closely all sophomore tutorials. In addition, the proposals require all juniors to have the options of enrolling in a tutorial conducted by a full professor.

The reforms will be presented to the Faculty Council early this month. If they are approved, the full Faculty will consider them at its March meeting.

"As far as History and Lit is concerned, a marked increase in tutorial participation by faculty members is not realistic," James Wilkinson, head tutor for the Committee on History and Literature, said yesterday.

Wilkinson said the History and Literature Department will be hard pressed to maintain the current level of tutorial supervision since the opening of the concentration to all students has generated an increase in demand for tutorials.

Wilkinson added that all History and Lit professors are already under a "double obligation, with their first allegiances lying elsewhere."

I'm Trying

Robert L. Amdur, assistant professor of Social Studies, said yesterday that Social Studies "already comes as close as the other departments are likely to" in meeting the requirements outlined by CUE.

"Forty per cent of our junior tutorials are already taught by professors," Amdur said, adding that two-thirds of the seniors concentrating in Social Studies have senior faculty members as thesis advisers.

Katherine Auspitz, assistant professor of Social Studies, said yesterday offering tutorials in conjunction with other departments could help to meet the new requirements.