QUESTIONS FOR THE SENATE ON FACULTY LOADS AND CURRICULAR DESIGN

Class Sizes and Pedagogy

1. There is often an a priori assumption in higher education that large classes add to faculty workload and small classes provide load relief. Is this indeed the case? Should departments that have many larger GE sections be allowed more lower-enrolled upper-division courses?

2. In addition to the obvious inequity of average class size between departments, some departments have significant size inequities within their departments. The latter was identified in the last HERI Faculty Survey as a concern by some faculty. Should large and small classes be equally distributed between faculty within a department whenever possible?

High Impact Learning Experience for First-Year and Sophomore Students

3. For our size and financial status, Westmont does not have relatively high numbers of large class sections.* Yet many first-year students may experience mostly large classes.** Do we need to look at the first-year curriculum and make changes that ensure all first-year students experience a diversity of learning experiences? Should we do more to prompt greater innovation about teaching and evaluation methods within large sections?

4. There is a great variety between departments for how much instruction is done by adjuncts. Should there be special consideration when assigning an adjunct to teach general education courses? If so, what?

Curriculum Design

5. Tracks within majors become the rationale for offering and justifying the need for low enrollment classes. Should there be some expectations for enrollment in the tracks in order to keep offering them?

6. There are classes that consistently enroll poorly. Once they are in the class schedule, we often feel that we are compelled to keep offering them. Do we need a protocol for identifying such classes and then restrict the department in scheduling the class?

7. Do we need a protocol where a department can make the case (once and for all) that certain classes are fundamental and essential and will be allowed regardless of enrollment history?

Instructional and Advising Loads

8. Faculty load is currently determined by credit hours assigned to the course (except for labs). Do we need an accepted protocol that is triggered for classes with very low enrollments (less than X) that changes the faculty load credit determination for the class and obligates the instructor for some compensatory assignment?

9. There is great disparity in the number of advisees that faculty members serve. Are there ways of distributing this load more equitably?

10. Do we need a fresh look at faculty load credit for practicum/internship supervision? Supervising student research and honor projects? Tutorials?

*Three out of five classes at Westmont (60%) enroll 19 students or fewer; it's nearly four out of five (78%) at the upper-division level. There are some courses over 50, but they represent less than 3% of the total classes offered at the college. As points of comparisons, the College Board for 2014 reports that Williams (the top-ranked liberal arts college by US News and World Report) has 71% under 20, and 3% over 50. UCLA has 50% under 20, and 22% over 50. Biola has 48% under 20, and 6% over 50.

**Typically large first-year sections include Principles of Art (mid 20s), General Biology I (35 to 50), General Chemistry I (40 to 50), Accounting (30 to 40), Macro- and Microeconomics (30 to 40), Introduction to Literature (30), Perspectives on World Civilization (30 to 40), Fitness for Life (40s), Calculus (20 to 30), Philosophical Perspectives (30 to 40), General Psychology (30 to 40), Old Testament (40 to 50), New Testament (40 to 60), Christian Doctrine (40s), Intro to Sociology (25 to 35).

PROPOSALS FOR DISCUSSION

Advising:

  • That we “train” 4-6 Student Life or Library personnel (or other co-curricular staff, like Martin or Gaede Institute personnel, etc.) to serve as advisors to undecided students.
  • That faculty with light advising loads (or light enrollments) in their majors be asked to prepare to advise undecided students or students in another major. (For instance, are there some science faculty who could help with Kinesiology?)

First-Year Experience:

  • That we gather the chairs of selected departments (RS, English, History, Philosophy, Math, Biology, Chemistry, Psychology) to discuss ways of varying pedagogy and intellectual work at the first-year level, and discuss some means of providing greater personal interaction.

Small Class Sizes:

  • That we identify which courses with historic enrollments of six or less really need to be offered. If they are related to a specific track within a major, we would consider whether that track needs to be restructured or eliminated.
  • Otherwise, we would establish a principle that all classes with pre-registration of 6 or less will be cut and the professor reassigned to another course, unless the chair makes a written appeal to the provost. (We would, of course, end up running some of these courses, but we would simply ensure that the chair was scrutinizing the enrollment and weighing options proactively rather than waiting for someone in the Provost’s Office to call).