From: Provost Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2015 To: Columbia College Chicago Subject: A Message from the Provost re: Class Section Sizes Dear Colleagues, There has been a lot of conversation and confusion on campus recently about the college’s average class section size, and I hope this message will address your concerns First, let me say that I as provost and we as a college remain committed to maintaining our small average class section size We continue to believe that, for most courses, smaller section sizes allow for more effective studentinstructor communication But as you know, I also have asked department chairs and deans to examine section sizes and determine where they can make incremental adjustments to increase our overall average by a very small number Right now, our average class section size is just under 17 I’m hoping to see the average section size increase to around 18 for fall 2015 This will put us in line with the early 2000s when our average section size was between 18 and 20 Even at that time, we were known as a college that prided itself on small class sections My decision to increase average class section size is an effort to be more efficient with students’ hard-earned tuition dollars, but I assure you that my foremost commitment is to maintaining high-quality education at Columbia College Chicago I am confident that a small increase in average class section size will not have a negative impact on the quality of education our students receive So, why have I asked for this small increase? As recently as 2008, our college enrolled about 12,500 students Since that time, enrollment has declined to about 9,500 students But we have continued to offer pretty much the same number of course sections, which also continued to shrink in size Over time, this has become quite expensive What I am trying to is get us back on track in terms of efficiency, while never exceeding the college’s historically low average class section sizes Just to give you a sense of how we compare to other institutions, please look at the table below: Institution Columbia College Chicago University of Chicago Northwestern University Roosevelt University DePaul University Loyola University Chicago Source: U.S News and World Report Website Percentage of Class Sections with Fewer than 20 students 77% 75.8% 74.6% 60.3% 41% 37.5% As you can see, with 77% of our class sections having fewer than 20 students, we rank very well compared to other Chicago-area colleges and universities This excellent percentage will not change But it is important for you to understand that a small increase in average section size will save the college as much as $1.6 million annually in student tuition funds That’s $1.6 million we will be able to invest in our future as a college I’m sure you also have heard that there will be a few large sections of what is being referred to as the “Big Chicago” courses, which will temporarily replace the First Year Seminar As I indicated in a message last week, the “Big Chicago” courses are a one-year experiment that will be in place while a committee of faculty, both full-time and part-time, works on a proposal for the future of the first-semester required course for new students We eliminated First Year Seminar in response to several years’ worth of student data showing us that students did not see the relevance of the course We will make it relevant We are offering the experimental “Big Chicago” courses to test the possibility of doing the first-semester required course as a lecture course, with our best and most dynamic faculty members in every section But even in these experimental large sections, we will have teaching assistants, discussion leaders, and small breakout groups There is national evidence that this approach can be highly effective for some subject areas But again, this is a one-year experimental approach The faculty committee will review data from the “Big Chicago” sections and see if this is a viable approach or if some other approach will work better We know, however, that First Year Seminar was no longer viable The student evaluation data showed us this, and we also have anecdotal evidence that freshmen were leaving Columbia because of their dissatisfaction with this course We want the course to be relevant, deeply connected to the city of Chicago, focused on diversity, connected to students’ overall curricula, and connected to the departments and the very best departmental faculty Rather than being concerned about the small increase in average section size or the “Big Chicago” experimental courses, I encourage the college community to welcome these moves The effort to modestly increase our average section size will make us more efficient, while still preserving our historically small class sections This efficiency will allow us to invest in making the college even better in the future The “Big Chicago” courses are the first exciting step in creating a much more interesting and relevant first-semester course I hope this message will begin to establish greater clarity about the compelling reasons for recent decisions Best regards, Stan Stanley T Wearden, Ph.D Senior Vice President and Provost Columbia College Chicago Provost’s Office | 600 S Michigan Ave | Chicago, IL 60605-1996 | (312) 369-7495