Amidst concerns of staffing shortages at the College, Provost Renee Cramer and President John E. Jones III ‘77 clarified details surrounding courses, major and distribution requirements for current and future students. 

In a meeting with The Dickinsonian, President Jones and Provost Cramer addressed worries about staffing issues. Cramer stated, “We have enough faculty,” and Jones added that the college is “confident we have enough faculty.” Furthermore, Cramer associated certain problems with scheduling classes to poor distribution, explaining that the College “need[s] to distribute courses in a good way,” meaning required courses would be fairly and accurately distributed each semester, allowing every student to fulfill graduation requirements on time.

To achieve an ideal distribution of classes, Cramer outlined how the College will be using predictive methods based on the number of students who have declared their majors. Cramer wants to “be sure students know what they need,” and make sure parents feel secure that their children are getting the classes they need. 

In tandem with concerns surrounding faculty, concerns around the demands of major requirements infringing on graudation requirements have also arisen. Cramer clarified that there will be no significant changes coming to distribution requirements at the College. However, certain majors and departments may be making small adjustments to their specific requirements. The College is also looking at how general education classes can be incorporated into major requirements, which would open up student’s schedules. 

Cramer also placed special emphasis on the necessity and uniqueness of First Year Seminars (FYS). She explained that the College is dedicated to ensuring that FYS will fit in students and faculty schedules, and will focus on guaranteeing “long term faculty have enough space in [their] schedule” to teach them.