May Term Evaluation

February 26, 2004

Editorial

May Term is an important part of the Simpson experience, andhopefully the panel of administrators, faculty and students who areassigned the task of evaluating it will keep this in mind whenmaking their recommendation.

Admittedly, professors are extremely busy people and lack thetime needed to put together a substantially educational course.This is even more of a painful task when the classes that may beconsidered challenging are ignored and passed up for theever-popular fishing and movie watching classes.

Doing away with May Term is only one possible solution. GivingMay Term a specific focus and getting rid of the questionableclasses is also a possible solution. If these three weeks that arecurrently used as a slacking off period are given a new, directfocus, maybe this term can be salvaged.

One such focus can be experience. For those who choose not totravel, offer classes that can give them a similar experience.Offer a class that will spend three weeks studying the culture andcommunication methods of Europe. Offer a class that allows studentsto study the architecture and artistry of the Chinese culture.

When planning for a May Term using this focus, professors canhelp each other out. The professor who is leading the trip and theprofessor who is staying on campus can plan their agendas together.This can help cut back on the stress professors feel from having toplan a class by themselves in such a short period of time.

This also ensures that the students who have chosen to stay oncampus, for whatever reason, will receive information similar tothat which is received by those on the trip.

While the possibilities for May Term modifications go on and on,whether or not May Term does will be in the hands of the selectedpanel. No decisions have been made, so it’s not too late to getinvolved.