Provost's council releases phase one of 21st century 'Penn Undergraduate Experience'

The quality of academia is on the rise even in the early months of summer at the University. Phase one of the 21st-century Penn Undergraduate Experience was released in the Almanac last Thursday by the Provost's Council on Undergraduate Education. Phase one was given by PCUE which is comprised of nine subcommittees of students, faculty and staff and is chaired by Provost Stanley Chodorow. According to the Almanac, this was the first step towards planning a design which would deal both -- directly and indirectly -- with students' undergraduate experience at Penn. Chodorow said that the premise of phase one is to, "provide a basis for a process of of experimentation with curriculum, service learning, the expansion of research opportunities for undergraduates, and the development of collegiate communities." "I wrote most of it, approved all of it, and chaired the committee that prepared it," Chodorow added. However, some question Chodorow's enthusiasm concerning the plan. College senior and Undergraduate Chairperson Lance Rogers believed that although he saw potential in the phase one version, there were ambiguous elements in the document's semantics. "From my first look at it, it seems pretty broad, pretty extensive, and pretty vague," said Rogers. "There are some interesting ideas -- definitely some good ideas," Rogers added. "As to how they will be carried out, that remains to be seen." For instance, the plan outlines the ideas of changing the undergraduate experience by stressing research collaborations, redefining the boundaries of the schools and promoting community service, he said. Rogers said that he felt the ideas were good ones, but he questioned whether they were probable. "[Students and faculty as collaborators in the search for knowledge], that is a great idea and a great premise," said Rogers, "However , student and faculty still don't have places to go where both can get together to hang out in an informal setting. "One of the first things you should do is to make sure the professors speak English," added Rogers. In reading over the first copy of Phase one, Rogers noted that the plan was written that left more to be desired. "I would like to look at the specifics of this plan," said Rogers, "Right now it sounds like a lot of mumbo-jumbo although I'm sure it has a lot of potential and will benefit students in the future." Phase two will follow phase one and will organize and monitor the progress of the present committees. The Council of Undergraduate Deans will take over and become steering committee for the 21st-Century Project, which is chaired by the Provost.