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Page 9 text:
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Van Alstyne: Well I was in an awkward position. At the time the original planning committee was es- tablished I was head of the Math De- partment ... So that I had to sit on the executive committee. I was at the meeting when the President an- nounced the formation of the Planning Committee. The most uncomfortable experience I ' ve ever had in my life. The Committee was so upset that they declared a five minute recess. Right in the middle of the meeting. They were very upset and never forgave the President. It turned out that . . . some of them were very supportative later on but as a Committee . . . they hadn ' t done the job they were sup- posed to and they were embarrassed! And Annoyed. And particularly an- noyed that they had had no say on who was on the Committee. They weren ' t asked . . . that was the begin- ning of the demonishion of their pow- er. Anderson: Somehow, I guess, they got the ear of the Administration and committees were formed ... to investigate and come up with a proposal . . . and eventually this was presented to the faculty and we had 50,000 meetings ... It was not unani- mous but ... it was definitely a majority. We have the PLAN now and what are we going to do about it? Bridgeman: You can always go back to the traditional system but how well do the grades evaluate what the student has gotten out of the course? And because the student has passed a certain number of courses in a certain number of areas doesn ' t insure that he ' s really carrying . . . (it) in his head — he ' s been exposed to it. It seemed to have enough good features that (the faculty) were willing to give it a try. I think the faculty has been very cooperative in that once the thing was adopted they made a real effort to make it work. Wagner: We ' re still doing the job — as good a job as other schools are doing because all of ' em are down. Because we ' ve adopted a permissive system that never existed ... He isn ' t psyched the way he used to be. He ' s brought up on the boob tube ... I can ' t do the things that they do on T.V. — so can I hold your attention? We ' re still turning out people that are easily comparable to other schools, and maybe even a little better, but still, I strive for the best.
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Page 10 text:
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ffey .7 sA » 6ere yov ri cc ' eoaineerioq F THE WPI PLAN WPI has undertaken a complete and systematic revision of its traditional approach to undergraduate engineering education. The resulting educational program, known as the WPI Plan , is the product of two years of intensive planning and seven years of im- plementation effort involving every one of its 170 faculty members and 2,200 undergraduate students. Worcester Polytechnic Institute was a good school. It had always been a good school. In 1871 Stephen Salis- bury II said that WPI was the first at- tempt in the United States to combine theoretical knowledge and practical training. The school emerged as a source for soundly trained engineers, however, it did not gain a wide reputa- tion. Most of its graduates attained middle management positions. Not many alumni became outstanding. WPI never really publicized its achievements and most of its gradu- ates wanted the school to remain pret- ty much the same. WPI was specifically designed to give a traditional education. A large percentage of the Board of Trustees were Tech graduates. A rigid depart- mental structure existed. Grading was based on attendance and the regurgita- tion of facts. Until recently, ROTC was mandatory for all students. The undergraduate generally came from a family of modest means. For the most part, he was not interested in foreign languages, liberal arts, or social science. The average student was con- servative, above average in math and science, and liked to work with his hands. He enjoyed practical engineer- ing but did not especially relish its theoretical aspects. The faculty was not outstanding. Ph.D. ' s were not as numerous as at other schools. Only 48% of the engi- neering faculty had earned that de- gree. In comparison, 80% of the faculty had earned their doctorate at R.P.I. A healthy flow of ideas didn ' t seem to exist among departments due to inbreeding. The school lacked intel- lectual excitement. Instructors started to go stale due to heavy teaching loads, insufficient time for reading and re- search, and few moments to converse with other members of the faculty. Few professors were present whose stature went beyond New England. During the 1930 ' s, leading schools in technical education increased their research. Therefore, they made vital contributions to the war effort during World War II. Their reputations for making advancements carried on after the war. WPI did little to encourage faculty research. The administration didn ' t allow enough time for it. Re- cently, the trend has been improving, but Tech is still far behind the compe- tition. For a long time, Alden Research
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