University of Massachusetts Amherst - Index Yearbook (Amherst, MA)

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A Period of Change A period of change ..... in the diversity of student programs. A period of change can best describe the curriculum at the University of Massachusetts. When William Field be- came Dean of Students, the University had a common core curriculum. To- day, the University has one of the most diverse curriculums in the Northeast. When Dean Field came to the Univer- sity, all students took a specified core group of courses regardless of major. For example, Dean Field explained, all students took Botany l because it was a required course. The College of Arts and Sciences required its students to take a science. A typical freshman course load consisted of Zoology, Bot- any, Chemistry, and English. This left a very limited selection of electives for students to choose. This allowed stu- dents to choose their major later on in their career. The School of Engineering also set up their own standards, in addition to the University requirements. As a re- sult, what courses a student took as a freshman or sophomore depended on where the student was registered or what major the student had. 20!Administrators lu jg, 'W'- '? 'll -gm. ,I -xxx Photo by Judith Fiola Dean of Students William F. Field Once schools and colleges started setting up their own standards, differ- eniation took place. Courses were di- vided for majors and non-majors. The University had courses such as Chem- istry for Majors and Chemistry for Non- Majors. Today, the University offers one of the most diversified curriculums in the Northeast. Students can choose from over 4000 courses and choose from over 80 different majors. When asked what changes Dean Field forsees, he responded, to have more courses specific to majors. Dean .Field also sees a new core requirement on social, racial, and ethnic cultures for the Uni- versity. Whatever the outcome, the Universi- ty of Massachusetts will one day be- come the finest academic institution in the Northeast. llfilikikikili A period of change can also describe student clubs and organizations. When Dr. Dennis Madson became Vice Chan- cellor for Student Affairs, the club sys- Photo f Dr. Madson's office. Vice Chancellor Student Affairs Dr. Dennis L. Madson tem was already Eight years ago, there weifgapproxiif mately 300 clubs and organizationsg Today, that figure has jersts grown 'tqgoveri 4oo. U jjts , V over the past few years.'The jbusine esses are training their management better and are more organized than in the past. Also in 01980, most busin- esses, such as the Hatch, were brought into the University Accounting System, allowing for betterorganization and al-Q lowing the University to conduct audit- ing. Residential life has become more specialized. Colloquia were added. The social life of residents became more diverse and new discipline policies made for better operation of the resi- dential halls. The University, through its many residential changes, made they residential areas one integrated func- tional operation. ., The diversltyf of student affairs at the 'University will help to strengthen it as, UMass strives for excellence. W I Student run businesses alsochangedf

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.. lllll Photo by Judith Fiola Associate Vice-Chancellor for l Academic Affairs Dr. Fern Johnson i, . i The University is now in a period of Qi academic maturation , according-to tl Associate Vice-Chancellor tO 1iACa?1,g cdemic Affairs Dr. Fern Johnson.fDr. From Maturation To Academic Success ' two gareas are top rated among univer- sitiecsfacrossjthe United States. The University also has a strong Honors Program and as strong .Bachelors De- School of Management, and the Hu- manities and Fine Arts. It is the goal of the University to have all academic buildings and dorms set up into a com- iiJohnson explained that duringsthefpastl, jfgree with individualCon.cenetrati0n-proQ sly yy puter network system. iifew years not much activity-has.takenfgram,Thce,fCCllNlS departmentshasbeen. Finallygyarr change that will happen rplace in academics primarily by desgign.-fl ASteadiiypaldvancingffinfdeveloping: new over. thenext irioc S everal years is the stu- ln the early 1970's through 1f980..r'1typeS OilDr0gr8n'iSlforiitslstuidents. ylsr oisill T ci rdeI'itybQdy4g oirr Ihenumber of eighteen- jboth faculty and studentibodiesgrew iosri 'ThefprofessiqnailSchoolSf have --also year-olds iff csyir thei-United States is de- esubstantially. .Membershipiinfsthe gras! steadily1fimproved.y clsy The Exercisey1ySdci4 creasinggThlisrlcswill mean less students klduate programs had also ,itnccreasedg spencer Sport .Mahagelment.. :ands HRTA1jiywili rris bedappiyilngifrom high school and VDu,e. to this increase, , manycgfj iiil new iprogramszyiljhavefmorejythanf1aQfsuffiy+ffrfiloregtromfftheh.middlefage class. Also lcourses and degree pirogramislswereiiary .cient inurnlberscrofc Students enrolled, rcr s morefrtransfer.fstudents will be attend- gded each year. T ssso A rrri A or - r fy i Q. ggiactpthe csls University-tof sscs Massachusetts ,ing llir the1u1n1iv.ersiiy..because of the qual- Beginning in 1980gthe Universityfbee lrci ghasimore iccr T'SfLld9Clti enrolied-:ini ilyc t hese yrrts lsi ityyoikits ili programsfand its low cost. gan to make the qualityofcrlits lprogramsg. p programs than mostjuniversities.e rpal isiri S i,Aftef-1 scll i ts,jgpergio.d ,of maturation, the better than the quantity 0fy.then1j dpeff v lisr 1' ii g gg gr ig T ylii 1 Q giis iirr Q ogsr 1 riiigg Ucnriversitysofeisijlillrassachusetts at Am- Qpartments offered more specialized During ryllsisi i this iperiodgfof. riii 1 maiuraison,l y herstjwilligbeccomethe ylfr top-university in :courses for majors ahdnon maj.orsqAt there rhasj also been Qgeneral isll f,ietIe.lj isiliyll the..yNgo.rtheast,f lcsycgls 1 griigs ro o 1 rsci I asl S .the Undergraduate levelig the entoniiiok i Changes.. iiis T he biggestChange7iS-.thesfree1 W lsrissss lyllsyp Q srclc s sii Q lirisi ' iils csyy 'ciisiiccccli i yffgcywayne Q03 ogy department developedfafdSpecialeggivisrigoinigofithe generalreducationdrequire4ff srrris in lllr c rsccc r ized degree program known, as 'intefe,rn.ents.fNewstudentsswiilehavepafdifferg olsly fgrated pest management. ZAt'thef.Gra- ycentgset1ofreClUil'eme'1iS ltisf fOm2th0.S6SieU+.1l iiiliii it F F gduate level, degree prograrris.are,oeing ycll denitscigtwhojrare oisl a dlreadyf .enrolled at the it j 1 ggdeveloped for Phd'S ,ingvnecuroscience l llriiversityjfheserequirementsinvolve , pf if and music. , ily i ioli 4 liir ggri ,staking cdlcocursesi lien-iiistorical Studiesqi A 52, f ' tlii T ssso itlr iiclis i fAnayiiticalQ Reasoning, andflSocial!Cutff, This period of maturation. alllOWS7th6 tural'Diversity.eltfalso requiresrstudents, . f if University time to buildfits reputation clgs ,tocgsltrakel one science igcl with japylab. Dr. academically. This is the number yllli one Qpriority ofthe administration , said'Dr, Qohnson. She stated lt is a realistic yc goalfor the University to becomethe best public institution in the North- Qastf' Some of the academic pro- grams are already the best in the , Northeast. i One example is the Polymer Science land Engineering departments. These i ' A i 1 i Jrfrbnsconllbeiievescthat .this-new educa-A T tion requirement isa ffgood foundation fOi'3ilStUdEr1fS'. i ' T A .ril it it 'Another general change iiiri is thesfuse of icomputers at the University. Comput-fi ers are being used all over the campus They are found in dorms and in some classrooms. Many disciplines have in- tegrated computers into their pro- grams Iike: Landscape Architecture, Administration!19

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l 1-5- Ill The Big Push Towards Excellence Starting next semester new stu ents will no longer be able to select ourses from the traditional C D and E ore requirements They will be re ulred to take courses from a new set Qfgguidelifiesfknbwn HSirGeneiraliirEdvCeE QJ'StuderttsVwill have to .take discourses trom areas calledeAnalytical Reasoning l hysical and Biological Worlds? and'So- cial World. Students must itakeftwot Qpurses from Analytical Reasoning g six 'torn Social World and three from i hysical and Biological World. ln addi- tiOn. students may be required to take a science course with a lab. 1 I , Freshman sophomores and tumors already enrolled at the Umversity are subject only to the traditional core re quirements However due to the im plementation ofthe General Education requirements it will bB'tiOUgl'i6l'ffO.lff stue dentsto enroll incertain classes.tl-listo- ry courses willbe one ofthe more diffif cultcoursesl to enrolligin.p New students will be required to-take a historical course.-whilesrothers will be trying-to fulfill a1C corein History. 4 'General Education will improve the f qualityi of education but it will 4 take time and patience. t i i l -Ns-X f M24-57. sg Photo by Ka en Zar o Photo by Ka e Top-Students prepare for upcoming exams. The new General Education requirements will affect them next year. Above- Frank lVlarj a chemistry student fin- ishes his lab report. How will the new require- ments aftect the science departments? Academic Requirements!21