Photo by Lily Reavis ‘21
By Casey Roepke ’21 and Kate Turner ’21
News Section Editors
On Thursday, May 14, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Faculty Jon Western announced in a campus-wide email that the faculty decided to recommend a module-style learning plan for the 2020-2021 academic year.
“The direction our planning will take for next year will be academic semesters divided into two seven-and-a-half week sessions. Students will take two courses in each session, with an option to take an additional two-credit course or independent study,” Western wrote for the COVID-19 frequently asked questions page on the Mount Holyoke website. “We will offer a complete and rich curriculum with a full range of courses.”
Because of the change in scheduling in the new semester, an additional advising and registration period will be offered for students in July.
Western’s update was followed by a second from Dean of Studies Amber Douglas on Wednesday, June 3, clarifying some specific details of the new modular semester model.
As previously reported by the Mount Holyoke News, this plan came out of the Academic Planning Group, an ad hoc committee formed on April 14 consisting of administrators, faculty and students.
“As (APG) was an emergency response team, it was outside of the regular faculty committee structure of college governance,” Tianhui Ng, chair of the Academic Priorities Committee and associate professor of music, said. “Once the immediate crisis was overcome, we felt it was important to realign things with our regular governance structures of the College. The Academic Planning Group was thus convened by the Academic Priorities Committee and the Office of the Dean of Faculty.”
Within the APG, several models were considered. “We broke up into smaller working units to look at different models,” Renae Brodie, an APG member and chair of neuroscience and behavior, said. “We looked at a conventional full semester model, Colorado College model with even shorter segments, the Beloit (module-style) model. After intensive study by subcommittees that came back to the general committee, we spent hours discussing the individual models until we converged on the Beloit model. We put that forward as a recommendation to the faculty.”
“When we gathered as APG, we started by looking at different models and we formed breakout groups to look at each model,” Ng said. “In this process, I know that some of my colleagues reached out to other faculty members so that many more views than just those at the table were represented.”
In a virtual town hall meeting on April 30, APG presented the module system to faculty as the leading contingency plan for the upcoming academic year. Faculty met the following week on May 6 to discuss the module system further and voted to officially recommend the system on Thursday, May 14. The proposal now advances to the Board of Trustees for a vote.
According to Brodie, the faculty vote was preceded by discussion and debate. Due to the governing style of protecting the minority opinion, much of the discussion consisted of faculty members voicing their concerns with the proposal. Despite some opposition, the plan passed with over 90 percent of the faculty vote.
“Even with the best-case scenarios, we know that a significant number of our students likely will need to access the curriculum remotely,” Western wrote in his email. “This model is fully accessible and inclusive for all of our students. … We will be spreading out class times and increasing our ability to manage the physical distancing that likely will be required to resume any in-person instruction safely. The broader range of class times also permits those students who cannot return to campus to access courses and learn remotely, across many time zones, with a schedule that is manageable.”
Though the module system intentionally allows for flexibility, Western reiterated that the administration plans for “a resumption of in-person on-campus instruction.”
The College did not provide any further information on plans to return students to campus in the fall.
“Mount Holyoke College faces serious and consequential challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. I am deeply grateful to every member of the APG for the way in which they have approached this complex task, and for the duty of care and concern they have consistently demonstrated,” President of the College Sonya Stephens wrote in a statement to the Mount Holyoke News. “While there are many details yet to be resolved, this framework enables us to plan for next academic year, and to do so in a way that will be informed by the evolving public health situation.”
She continued, “This academic structure is the most equitable, accessible and inclusive approach in these circumstances. It is the model that prioritizes the academic mission of the College and the engaged learning that is our hallmark. It also supports the best-case scenarios for a return to residential, in-person education, should that become possible.”
According to Western, the APG has formed several working groups to develop the new system and will report back to the community with “full details” in early July.