More than a year and a half after a faculty review committee recommended terminating the education department, College administrators still have not officially decided the department's future but the program appears to be here to stay.
"My clear understanding is that the administration has said there will be education and education will be maintained as part of the Dartmouth course offerings," Education Department Chair Robert Binswanger said. "Students who are interested should have no reason not to take courses."
"I don't think there is a threat to the program continuing," Binswanger said.
Associate Dean of the Faculty George Wolford said, "For all of the classes that are here now, there is likely to be a teacher training option."
But the Dean's Office still will not guarantee how long the College's teacher certification program will continue. The department currently offers courses that lead to a teaching certificate.
In the Spring term of 1993, a faculty review committee recommended to Dean of the Faculty James Wright in a report that the education department be terminated.
Although the report has not been released, sources who have seen it said it cites internal problems in the department as a reason for its cancellation.
Administrators said the report will probably never be made public. But Wolford outlined some of the problems the report broached.
"The department had become fragmented -- it was doing both teacher training and education studies," Wolford said. "I don't think the educational studies was a coherent body."
Binswanger said the committee also decided that everyone who teaches in the department should be on campus full-time, have a doctoral degree and teach a full course load. Previously, many of the education professors did not carry a full course load and were often visiting professors from other institutions.
Wolford said the department was founded 100 years ago solely to provide teacher training, but was staffed by temporary faculty and "often seemed like an afterthought."
While Wolford criticized the department's overall structure, he praised the work of its professors. "The individuals themselves taught excellent courses with popular followings," he said.
After the critical report came out, the education department had the chance to respond. Then Wright in the summer commissioned a faculty committee chaired by Binswanger to make recommendations. The committee eventually affirmed the value of the College's role in preparing students for teaching positions and recommended the education department continue.
It also suggested that the department give more emphasis to the teacher preparation aspect of the program.
Wolford said the administration believes "elite schools have an obligation to contribute potential teachers with different viewpoints to the school systems."
Neither Binswanger nor Wolford would comment on the specific changes that will be made based on the latest recommendations. The Dean's Office still is waiting for Binswanger's updated plans for the department.
Wolford said a final decision on the department's future will not be made until he receives a revised plan from Binswanger.
Binswanger said they are going to try to increase the number of professors with doctorates although the department is not allowed to require doctorates from its entire faculty
"It combines with having full-time people -- the full-time people ought to have their terminal degree. With terminal degrees you get a better educated and better qualified instructor," he said. It has nothing to do with "the quality of the people teaching now," he added.
Wolford said the education department responded to the initial committee report by submitting a plan to the Dean of Faculty Office addressing the administration's concerns. But he said this initial report was inadequate.
"There are some organizational issues and staffing issues that need to be straightened out," he said. "They presented a plan that was self-contradictory."
