An unprecedented number of people have submitted proposals for Experimental College courses for the fall semester, and the ExCollege staff is struggling to keep up.
The number of course proposals submitted this year jumped from an annual average of about 100 to around 145 for next semester, according to ExCollege Director Robyn Gittleman. This number will most likely be whittled down to between 20 and 22 courses, said Howard Woolf, the ExCollege's associate director and director of media technology.
Since its establishment in 1964, the ExCollege has housed courses that do not fit easily into academic departments. Students, faculty members and outside lecturers are given the opportunity to design and teach their own courses.
The bleak economic climate may have played a factor in the rise in applications this year.
"In the past, this same spur has happened when the economy goes down and people want something to do in the teaching field," Gittleman said, adding that everyone from outside the university teaching an ExCollege course is financially compensated.
Woolf said that, in addition to the recession, an increased focus on online advertising by the ExCollege has contributed to the rise in course proposals.
"The economy is a factor but I think that can be overplayed," Woolf said. "Over the last couple years we've started to make more use of online ways of spreading the word about ways to teach, and I think that has made some impact."
The application process for proposals is lengthy, requiring an initial review by faculty members to ensure quality and minimize overlap with Tufts courses outside the ExCollege. Subcommittees made up of one faculty member and two students then review proposals individually and interview the applicants.
Trying to cope with the surge in applications, the ExCollege has reached out to faculty and students to help out.
"I've got to tell you, the response has been great, we're really heartened by how many of the faculty have said yes, they'd be part of our subcommittees," Woolf said.
About 30 committees will review proposals this year; normally, there are fewer than 20, according to Woolf.
"The ExCollege reads the proposals and using the faculty evaluation and the subcommittee evaluation we have a long voting process," sophomore Danny Wittels, a member of the ExCollege Board, said.
The first stage of the review is ongoing, and subcommittees will start up next week, Woolf said. Final selections will not be made until the first day of reading period.
