The Dartmouth Experience plan, recently approved by the College's Board of Trustees, is a watered-down adaptation of the proposals of the Committee on the First-Year Experience, but an important first step in integrating students' intellectual and academic experiences with the College's residential program.
The plan's goals -- creating a "marriage of intellectual and social life," increasing faculty-student interaction and enriching the students' residential experiences -- are ambitious but admirable.
Under the plan proposed by Dean of the College Lee Pelton, the East Wheelock Cluster will have a faculty associate living near the cluster, a cluster dean, additional programming money and improved academic and social facilities.
A cluster dean and resident professor will make advising more accessible for both first-year and upperclass students.
The increase in programming funds will allow the cluster to more adequately address the needs of its residents. Presently freshmen make up the majority of students who participate in cluster programming events. Enriched programming options will increase opportunities for interaction among all classes.
One drawback of the plan is its limited scale. While cluster programs and resources are open to the use of all students, only the cluster's residents will be able to fully benefit from its extra resources. However, the College cannot implement the plan in every cluster immediately. The College must start somewhere.
Pelton has indicated that success in the East Wheelock cluster may lead to similar renovations in other residence halls. The College should begin an evaluation of the plan as soon as possible following its implementation, so all students might benefit from the enriched residential experience the plan will potentially provide.
