Faculty Council Nixes Science Core Exemption

Despite a stated commitment to reducing undergraduate requirements, the Faculty Council approved of a plan to eliminate the Advanced Placement (A.P.) exemption to the Science Core requirement yesterday.

The change, which was in discussion for more than a year, will not affect current students, but the class of 2003 could be the first to lose that option, said Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education Jeffrey Wolcowitz.

The Faculty of Arts and Science Standing Committee on the Core Program and its Subcommittee on Science approved the proposal a year ago. Faculty Council approval paves the way for implementation.

Currently, a score of four or five on the AP Chemistry exam or the A.P. Physics C exam can take the place of a Science A Core class.

A score of 4 or 5 on the A.P. Biology exam exempts a student from the Science B requirement. Students can choose either exemption, but not both.

Under the new plan, no A.P. credit will be allowed to substitute for Core requirements.

According to Baird Jr. Professor of Science Gary J. Feldman, who first initiated the change over a year ago, the Core exemption was based on a false assumption that high school courses replicate Core material.

"My view is that the A.P. exemption was a mistake from the start", Feldman said yesterday. "I think it was based on flawed logic".

In September of 1997, Feldman wrote a letter to Clowes Professor of Science Henry Ehrenreich, who chairs the Subcommittee on Science, outlining his objection to the exemption.

"The whole rationale for the Core is to introduce students to the way scholars wrote in that letter. "I assert that both Science Core courses and substitute departmental courses serve this function in a way that high school courses cannot".

The Faculty Council first discussed the proposal last fall but tabled the matter because of concerns that eliminating the exemption violates a Faculty commitment to reducing requirements, Wolcowitz said yesterday.

"We wanted to make sure that in light of those other discussions about overall requirements, the broader segments of the community had a chance to comment on it," he said.

In recent months, the Committee on Undergraduate Educational Policy Committee have both examined the proposal.

Every committee that looked at this believed that educationally this was the right thing to do, but wanted to reiterate a commitment to finding ways to reduce overall requirements," Wolcowitz said. "We are not ignoring that issue."

Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68 said yesterday in an e-mail message that he personally does not support the change. He Stressed that his opinions represent his view as the McKay Professor of Computer of Science, not an official statement of opinion as Dean of the College.

"The Faculty has indicated that it is of a view that overall requirements are too high, and indeed passed some specific legislation about reducing them. This change seems to me to be going in the wrong direction, but perhaps that is a matter of interpretation," Lewis wrote.

Lewis noted that the change will affect relatively few students-most students with AP science credit concertrate in the sciences, and are thus already exempted from the requirement.

"I think the reason I am disappointed by this change is that only students are affected by it-it requires no more effort on the part of the faculty (except adding a few more students to a few courses), but it does add a nontrivial burden to the requirements on certain students," Lewis wrote.

Feldman said yesterday that he does not believe that the change constitutes an increase in requirements.

"I think of this as instituting a requirement that's already on the books," he said.

"It doesn't make any more sense to have a science exemption than to have a humanities exemption".

Feldman noted in his letter that about 200 students a year currently take advantage of the exemption.

Ehrenreich said yesterday that the plan ensures students will graduate with a broader understanding of the sciences.

We feel that students should come away from Harvard educated in the best possible way, even if they themselves are not interested in science," Ehrenreich said. "We believe that the courses we offer at Harvard are, in many cases, better than what people learn about in high schools, even if they cover the same material.

In recent months, the Committee on Undergraduate Educational Policy Committee have both examined the proposal.

Every committee that looked at this believed that educationally this was the right thing to do, but wanted to reiterate a commitment to finding ways to reduce overall requirements," Wolcowitz said. "We are not ignoring that issue."

Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68 said yesterday in an e-mail message that he personally does not support the change. He Stressed that his opinions represent his view as the McKay Professor of Computer of Science, not an official statement of opinion as Dean of the College.

"The Faculty has indicated that it is of a view that overall requirements are too high, and indeed passed some specific legislation about reducing them. This change seems to me to be going in the wrong direction, but perhaps that is a matter of interpretation," Lewis wrote.

Lewis noted that the change will affect relatively few students-most students with AP science credit concertrate in the sciences, and are thus already exempted from the requirement.

"I think the reason I am disappointed by this change is that only students are affected by it-it requires no more effort on the part of the faculty (except adding a few more students to a few courses), but it does add a nontrivial burden to the requirements on certain students," Lewis wrote.

Feldman said yesterday that he does not believe that the change constitutes an increase in requirements.

"I think of this as instituting a requirement that's already on the books," he said.

"It doesn't make any more sense to have a science exemption than to have a humanities exemption".

Feldman noted in his letter that about 200 students a year currently take advantage of the exemption.

Ehrenreich said yesterday that the plan ensures students will graduate with a broader understanding of the sciences.

We feel that students should come away from Harvard educated in the best possible way, even if they themselves are not interested in science," Ehrenreich said. "We believe that the courses we offer at Harvard are, in many cases, better than what people learn about in high schools, even if they cover the same material.