SCUE offers 18 fall preceptorials

Over 3,500 students have already tried to register for the non-credit courses. Though advance registration for the fall semester ended Sunday, students looking to expand their educational horizons need look no further than the Web site of the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education. Offerings for the fifth semester of SCUE's popular preceptorial program include subject matter such as art and literature, the stock market, explorations of the Philadelphia area and the drawing of live nude models. SCUE's slate of 18 preceptorials -- not-for-credit mini-courses taught in seminar-sized classes by University faculty members and staff -- numbers 10 more than were offered this semester, according to SCUE Chairperson Rachael Goldfarb. On-line registration will end at midnight Monday. "We made a significant push to increase the number of preceptorials because there were so many people who wanted to get in but couldn't," the College junior said. Last fall, students made nearly 1,500 registration requests through SCUE's Web site in the first few days of the registration period for this semester's preceptorials. In the eight days of the current registration period, by contrast, SCUE has received 3,513 such requests, an average of 195 for each of the preceptorials. Most of the courses are capped at 15 students each. Sarah Federman, the SCUE member in charge of the preceptorial program, said she was excited by the enthusiastic response. "It's great," the College senior said. "It proves Penn students aren't anti-intellectual." Some of the University's top faculty members -- including Art History Professor David Brownlee, English Professor Peter Conn and Finance Professor Jeremy Siegel -- will be teaching the diverse array of courses. Conn, whose "Philadelphia Writers and Writing" course will feature authors such as Pulitzer Prize-winner Buzz Bissinger, said he was looking forward to teaching his upcoming preceptorial. "Anything that contributes to multiplying the cultural, intellectual and academic opportunities available to Penn undergraduates should be encouraged," he said. Religious Studies Professor Stephen Dunning said he expects a "diverse group of people," such as students interested in both religion and science, to enroll for his "Making Sense of the Creation Story: Genesis 1-3" preceptorial. Other courses will feature Brownlee giving a tour of Philadelphia's architecture, Urban Studies Professor George Thomas taking a group of 10 students to the beach and University Archives Director Mark Frazier Lloyd questioning why 1960s activism never caught on at Penn. "Health Care, Health Systems and HMOs -- Why is Medicine Changing?" will be taught by Medical School Professor Stanley Goldfarb, none other than the father of SCUE's chairperson. "My dad rarely says 'no,' " explained the younger Goldfarb. Other preceptorials will feature nude model drawing with Fine Arts Professor Julie Schneider, a discussion of feminism with Religious Studies Professor Ann Matter and the evolution of the human diet in Anthropology Professor Alan Mann's "If We Are What We Eat, Why Aren't Cows Green?" Also, College of General Studies Associate Director David Fox will introduce students to the opera in "Why Does the Fat Lady Sing?" and Astronomy Professor Mark Devlin will discuss the Big Bang and the first 100,000 years of time in "Exploring the Origins of the Universe." Siegel, whose "The Stock Enigma" is the most popular course to date based on the number of registrations, looks forward to a class not populated by MBA candidates. "I love being able to teach undergraduates," he said, explaining that he now teaches virtually only graduate-level classes. SCUE members said they were pleased by the diverse course offerings. "It's every class that I wish I could've taken while at Penn," said Federman, who graduates in May. The programs will be entirely free to students, with SCUE paying for everything, including books, food and subway tokens. The preceptorials program has a budget of about $10,000. Students will be notified of their enrollment by the end of the month, Goldfarb said.

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