Two pilot residential programs cancelled

A lack of student participation has killed plans for part of the experimental phase of a future residential college system. Due to low enrollment, only two of the four proposed virtual college pilot programs will open next year, Academic Programs in Residence Director Christopher Dennis confirmed yesterday. The original four experimental programs were to serve as models for a residential college system that is part of the administration's 21st Century Project on Undergraduate Education. Officials expected the Center for Advanced Undergraduate Study and Exploration, a program designed specifically for upperclassmen interested in research, and the Civic House, a community service-oriented pilot, to enroll about 30 to 40 students each, Dennis said. But only the non-residential Writers' House pilot program and the Science and Technology Wing -- a high-rise extension of an already existing program in Kings Court/English House -- will be operational in the fall. Earlier this year, administrators predicted that the pilot programs would be a popular option for students. "I expect a pretty high response," Dennis said in February, when the pilot programs began to accept residents' applications. But since CAUSE and Civic House only received about 10 applicants each, Dennis said it would be impossible to begin the pilots next fall. "I'm a bit disappointed," he said yesterday. "The planning process was difficult and there was a lot to arrange." Many officials remain confident that the ultimate goal of the program will still be achieved. Frank Johnston, an Anthropology professor who was to be the faculty director for Civic House next year, said he would have preferred to have something "up and running" in the fall. According to Johnston, it was not a lack of student interest, but rather poor timing that caused the low enrollment. "We just didn't get all the information out early enough," he said. "Students had already made living arrangements that they couldn't back out of." Johnston said he is optimistic that all four pilots will be successful by the fall of 1997. English Professor and Collegiate Planning Board Chairperson Robert Lucid said that a lack of early advertising prevented CAUSE and Civic House from getting off the ground. He explained that groups developed plans for the pilots just last semester. "Then we turned to the students in the second semester and said 'what about it'?" he explained. And Lucid said the future of the now non-existent pilot programs is uncertain. The planning board will soon be reporting on the planning process to the Council of Undergraduate Deans. They will recommend that efforts to recruit residents for the 1997 programs begin in mid-fall of next year, Lucid said. But according to Lucid, the Council may opt not to attempt to revitalize the pilot plans as they now exist. Rather than maintaining the narrow structure of each pilot, Lucid said the Council might prefer to "jump ahead" and create a sample college system that would include the characteristics of all four pilots. "By incorporating the pilots into a college right away, it would speed things up," he said. Lucid added that the future of the pilots and the entire college system will soon be in the hands of the Council of Undergraduate Deans. He explained that English Professor and CUD member Peter Conn, who will take Lucid's place next year after he retires, "will see that the message of the planning board reaches the undergraduate deans."