Praise from the Dean

The Dartmouth Experimental College is one of the most exciting new ideas at Dartmouth. The DEC meets a contemporary need now felt by all higher education, for it fills the gap between the expectations of the students and the requirements of the faculty. Students increasingly want the curriculum to be "relevant" to their immediate experience and to the problems of the world around them; at the same time, the pressure for academic competence leads the faculty to demand greater proficiency, more substance, more professional preparation. These two forces are in direct conflict and are mutually exclusive. The inevitable tension between them has been the cause, I believe, of much of the student frustration on the contemporary American campus.

The Dartmouth Experimental College responds directly to the student need and provides a forum for student and faculty discussion of contemporary issues. I do not believe that a curriculum can, or should, be so flexible or contemporary - the first job of the formal curriculum is to prepare students for careers which demand discipline and substance. But the Experimental College responds directly to student needs and answers their urgent call for "relevance."

You will enjoy this article by Bob Reich, who had the idea and who has carried it through to fulfillment.

Dean of the College