Colloquia numbers continue to decline

Dwindling numbers of colloquia are causing concern among both administrators and students. In the past, colloquia offered a small class setting for first and second year students that focused on exploring specific themes or texts in an interdisciplinary manner.

Students interested in freshman and sophomore colloquia this year can choose from a list of only seven courses, though the number was close to 30 when the Mellon Freshman and Sophomore Colloquia Program was started.

"It's troublesome," said President of the College Nancy Dye. "It's important to give curricular opportunities to first- and second-year students," Dye said.

The program was originally designed to provide students with small-class opportunities in their first two years at Oberlin. Enrollment in colloquia is limited to 15 students. In addition, these courses are intended to teach students analytical and communication skills early in the college career, according to Associate Dean of the College Suzanne Gay.

"There is, I think, a strong feeling that the idea behind the original Colloquium Program was an excellent one, and we need to address how to revitalize or reform the program," Gay said.

While seven is not a drastic decrease from the number of selections in last year's course catalogue, the gradual decline in the diversity of this program is an issue that college administrators are not taking lightly.

"Colloquia are declining in number and that's a source of real concern for us, because I think the small-class experience is very important for new students," Dean of the College Clayton Koppes said.

According to Gay, a member of the Educational Plans and Policies Committee (EPPC), steps are being taken to revamp this program.

"The committee [EPPC] has established an access subcommittee which will be studying the problem over the next few months, and will probably bring suggestions to the committee as a whole later this year," said Gay.

"We're still in the initial stages of investigating and trying to figure out what to do," Koppes said.

Since its inception, students have taken full advantage of this program, valuing these courses as integral aspects of their education.

Sophomore Wes Clapp, who took "The Religious Life of Mohandas Gandhi" colloquium last year, said, "Colloquia provide first - and second-years with the opportunity to play a more active role in their education than they can in larger intro classes."

"I think it's valuable for people to see how their input can influence a course early on in their education," first-year Julius Carlson said.

When the program was initiated, faculty agreed to teach a minimum of three such courses over the course of their careers. Unfortunately, most professors have already fulfilled this agreement. As a result of personal and departmental goals and priorities, most professors have had to turn their attention elsewhere, mainly towards other courses.

Another factor influencing the decline in availability of colloquia has been the never- ending effort to balance course offerings in an effort to satisfy students. "We will need to figure out how many freshmen-sophomore colloquia must be offered yearly to serve students adequately. It's a balancing act, but I think it can be done," said Gay.