Ranging from student steering committees to informal communication between professors and pupils, student academic input at the College takes many forms.
Annual events for majors, attendance at department meetings and involvement in the professorial recruitment process are the most common ways students can make their voices heard.
Most departments, depending on their size and specialty, offer different combinations of venues for student input.
A case study: the government department
For the last 20 years, the government department has had a student steering committee whose mission is "to get as broad a sample of student opinion as possible," said Matt McGill '96, co-chair of the committee.
Committee co-Chair Courtney O'Brien '96 described the student steering committee as a forum for students majoring in the department.
"We provide an open arena for any government major to come and discuss what they think are problems in the department," O'Brien wrote in an e-mail message.
"The committee is very necessary to keep faculty aware of student opinion," she added. "Otherwise, how would they know?"
McGill said this type of forum for student opinion is necessary because the government department is so large.
"Other departments might be much smaller," so they have more personal interaction with their students, he said. "You don't get that at the government department unless you take a lot of initiative."
"It's kind of nice that we have that institutionalized opportunity to voice student opinion to the department," McGill said.
Faculty in the department say the student steering committee is an asset to the department.
"We encourage [the students] to figure out what they want to do," Government Department Chair Nelson Kasfir said.
He said the committee has been involved in many departmental activities, especially in the recruitment of prospective professors.
"We like to have students give their opinion on candidates for jobs," he said. "They are part of our search for professors at Dartmouth."
"When we have new and visiting faculty members, we ask the students [on the committee] to organize a tea so they can meet them," Kasfir added.
McGill said the student committee is "very involved" with this recruitment process, and that the involvement has paid off.
The department "has been very responsive to student opinions," he said. It has invited one professor over another as a result of student input, he said.
The student steering committee also organizes a spectrum of minor programming events, McGill said, citing "evening meetings where professors describe the courses they will be teaching in the upcoming term" as an example.
Other issues the committee has recently tackled include the department's advisory system and the need for a statistics course within the department, he added.
The government department now offers its own statistics course -- a prerequisite for the major.
Common forms of student input
While the government department is the only department with a student steering committee, other departments have also established channels for student input.
Annual department-sponsored meeting for majors, which give students an opportunity to voice complaints and suggestions for the future, are one of the most common forums for student opinion.
Economics Department Vice Chair Michael Knetter explained that his department has "an annual meeting for economics majors."
"We invite them to come and discuss their concerns," he said.
Knetter said holding the annual meeting is "more appropriate" than soliciting opinion from a small number of students because it allows a greater number of people to offer their perspectives.
The biology, sociology and psychology departments are other large departments that hold annual events -- ranging from the biology department's annual picnic to the sociology department's senior luncheon.
The psychology department's undergraduate committee has an annual barbecue every spring, Committee Chair William Morris wrote in an e-mail message.
"We also tried a skating party at the DOC house this past Winter term, but it was during a thaw and very few students came," he added.
Student attendance at department meetings is a second method that allows them to voice their opinions. While some departments do not allow this practice, others welcome student's attendance.
The computer science, drama, history, German and Russian departments allow students to attend their meetings, but report that students usually do not come.
History students have an avenue of communication similar to that offered in the government department.
History Department Administrative Assistant Gail Vernazza said, "We have student representatives who attend meetings," adding that honors students have a high degree of input as well.
Russian Department Chair Richard Sheldon wrote in an e-mail message that "students don't attend, but they certainly could if they wanted to."
Even Kasfir admitted students do not attend government department faculty meetings on the whole, adding that "they're pretty boring."
Biology department faculty meetings "are usually just for professors," Biology Secretary Jane Ackerman said. "I don't know any student who would want to go."
Some departments do not allow students to attend their regular meetings, or they require an explicit invitation.
Psychology "students are not invited to come to our regular department meetings," Morris wrote. But "if an organized group of students wished to make their feelings or thoughts known about some issue, I'm sure they would be welcomed at a department meeting."
A third forum for student opinion lies in the clubs formed by majors such as the Dartmouth Undergraduate Psychology Association Morris wrote. It has an office, holds regular meetings and publishes a newsletter, he wrote.
Most language departments also have student clubs or affinity houses that interact with faculty regularly to plan cultural activities.
Some departments experiment with less common methods of harnessing student opinion.
Environmental Studies Administrative Assistant Kelly White said, "Every Thursday, we have brown bag lunches, and a professor in our department or associated with environmental issues comes to speak."
The film studies department goes closer to home to gain student input.
"I usually give a party every spring and invite the students to my house," Film Studies Department Chair Al LaValley said.
While student evaluations might traditionally be thought of as the main way of communicating with a department, only two departments mentioned the role these evaluations play.
The psychology department is "much more inclined to solicit formal input in the form of course evaluations," Morris wrote.
"Because this requirement is universal and the information is used to make decisions about salary and promotion, one might argue that students have a good deal of influence," he added.
Sociology Department Chair Raymond Hall said, "We encourage students to make comments on classes," adding "the students regularly evaluate courses."
Recruiting professors
Most departments allow students to give input in searches for new professors, but they do not provide students with a vote.
To offer an opinion, a student must attend a presentation or class given by the prospective professor.
Religion Department Chair Hans Penner said, in his department, a student must meet all of the prospective candidates and attend their lectures in order to add their input.
"It takes time," he said. "Those that hang in there are good students."
Education Department Chair Robert Binswanger said, "in a search process last year, the candidates came and taught a class to the students, and the students had to fill out evaluation forms."
The physics and astronomy department arranges for majors to have dinner with the short-listed candidates, Administrative Assistant Judy Lowell said.
Facilitating communication
Departments which have a small number of majors emphasized the importance of informal communication between students and professors.
Coordinator of the Women's Studies Program Anne Brooks said, "It's a small program, so we get a lot of input spontaneously."
Penner reiterated this sentiment regarding the religion department.
"The department has a pretty good relationship with the majors," he said. "The faculty office doors are always open."
He added that religion professors "are a very caring group," explaining "that's why we have such a good reputation."
LaValley also commented on how the size of the film studies department affects communication.
"We are a very close knit group," he said. "If it got big to the point where we weren't reaching people, then we might put a [student steering] committee through."
