Even with 27 new professors hired this academic year, many Dartmouth students find it hard to fully partake in the "small school" academic experience for which the College is renowned. Students who need to take classes to fulfill their major requirements linger on lengthy waitlists for courses offered by small and large departments alike. Some have even resorted to buying spots from other students.
Those fortunate enough to get into high-demand courses often quickly discover that class size is bloated to the point where professors are forced to compromise their principles regarding how a course should be taught. Numerous discussion-based classes are too big for every student to participate. In some instances, students have to sit in aisles or stand in the back of lecture halls that are filled beyond capacity to take courses needed to graduate. Considering that small class size is one of Dartmouth's major selling points, one must question whether or not the College's students are receiving the full value of their tuition dollars.
Some have suggested that one way to combat this issue is more collaboration between the Office of the Registrar and individual departments in deciding which students are selected for which courses. The current course selection process is more or less a random draw that bumps students from classes regardless of their major or age. Giving priority to majors and elder students would help keep classes from becoming larger than originally intended, but would also threaten the ideals of a liberal arts education.
The College should meet the problem of too few professors for too many students by increasing faculty size and encouraging donors to endow more chairs. While the Campaign for the Dartmouth Experience fundraising drive has prioritized faculty hiring, the College must spend its money wisely. Dartmouth must take an in-depth inventory to determine where course demand is consistently not met before allocating money to departments to hire professors. Otherwise, the "small college" of which Daniel Webster so famously spoke may slowly fade into history.
