Preceptorials give students a chance at broader education

Last Friday, 19 students jumped out of bed to gather at 8:30 a.m. for class. And they weren't even receiving credit for it. Bound for Atlantic City, the students were participating in a preceptorial -- one of 25 non-credit seminars for undergraduates, offered at no extra cost. Upon arrival at Caesar's Palace, the students took in all the flashing lights, slot machines and schmaltz Atlantic City had to offer. But the real excitement lay in what they discovered away from the chips and card tables. The trip and lecture were part of "A Crash Course on Gambling and Statistics," offered this spring. Students toured the casino's facilities, including backrooms not normally open to the public, and actually spent much of the day confined in a stark conference room, discussing everything from casino operations to gambling odds with employees of Caesar's. The week before, students had met with Statistics Professor Adi Wyner, who taught the ins and outs of casino games, strategy and the odds of winning. "[It] was remarkable.... He held 19 students' attention for three and a half hours. It let out a half hour late and nobody complained," said David Herman, a College freshman. Most preceptorials meet three times over the course of the semester or are one-day trips. Recent preceptorials have covered such topics as wine-tasting, movie special effects and power yoga. Students run and organize the preceptorial program, generating ideas for possible courses from a preceptorial committee. "The first meeting we have is a giant brainstorming session," explained Meredith Chiaccio, a College junior and one of two co-chairs of the preceptorial program. Students discuss topics they would like to explore -- or professors they think would like to lead a preceptorial. The idea for the casino visit evolved from a similar excursion Wharton students took two years ago, while studying finance. "It's educational -- something you'll take away from college," said College junior Dyer Halpern, the other preceptorial co-chair. "You'll remember this preceptorial whereas I doubt you'll remember 90 percent of your classes." Students who attended shared Halpern's passion. "It was great to be in a class with so few students with such individual attention," added Christian Gaffney, a Wharton and Engineering sophomore. All preceptorials are small -- most with no more than 15 students. The small size makes for an intimate environment, students say, but creates an frustrating application process. Halpern estimates that only about seven percent get into their first choice preceptorials. Together, there are over 6,000 applications for roughly 375 spots. "It actually wasn't my first choice," said College sophomore Sujit Suchindran, in reference to the gambling preceptorial. "I signed up for all the ones that were trips, but this wasn't my first choice. I'm glad I got it though." Students request preceptorials like regular classes during the advanced registration period. Then, applicants are picked at random to participate. Despite difficulties, Halpern estimates that around 80 percent of students participate in some sort of preceptorial during their college career. The preceptorial program continues to expand. Once a branch of the Student Committee of Undergraduate Education, the program is currently branching off into an independent entity. Though still funded by SCUE, the preceptorial committee basically stands on its own. Financial independence would help the program expand and save SCUE resources, Halpern explained. However, there are some concerns about the cost of the program. Next semester's preceptorials -- open for applications until advanced registration ends Sunday -- include a seminar on Sushi making and a leadership class with University President Judith Rodin. As for Friday's casino-goers, they were revved up after the experience. "It was definitely educational," Suchindran said. "I knew nothing about casinos before I came, let alone marketing or finance. And we got to see old people in action at the slots."

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