Partly Solved
In the lead article in this issue Dean Morse discusses the problem that the liberal arts college faces in wanting to participate fully in the armed forces' ROTC programs and in wanting just as much to maintain its "general education" objectives. At Dartmouth, for instance, the ROTC student devotes one fifth of his courses to military science, and the free electives left to him after meeting the College's own course requirements are few indeed.
The Faculty Committee on Educational Policy, tackling this dilemma, made three specific recommendations to the Faculty Council and these were approved in turn by the full Faculty at a special meeting on April 30. The Committee's two-fold answer is to reduce the number of major courses required of ROTC men and to permit ROTC men of 3.0 standing or better to carry a sixth course without extra charge.
For ROTC students in the Class of 1954, the number of required major courses will be reduced by one; for ROTC men in the Class of 1955 and thereafter the major courses will be reduced by two. Only the majors in Education, International Relations and Public Administration are exempt from this general ruling. To protect the aim of providing more free electives, the Faculty also voted that the number of prerequisites to a major could not be increased. What course or courses should be dropped from the major will be determined by the department in each individual student's case.
The vote concerning the granting of a sixth course to 3.0 men enrolled in ROTC was in the form of a recommendation to the President and Treasurer of the College. No official decision has yet been made by the administration. If approved, the extra course without charge will be open to the ROTC student in the semester immediately following any semester in which he attains a general 3.0 average. For men in the Class of 1956 and thereafter this would have to be translated into 4.0 (see above). Although not covered in the Faculty vote, the probability is that the sixth course would not be allowed prior to the sophomore year.
