Reports

Over the past two years, the Subcommittee on the HASS Requirement (SHR) conducted the first full review of how the Concentration Component of the HASS Requirement is functioning.

A five-School group of faculty convened by the Chair of the Faculty and the Dean for Undergraduate Education conducted an in-depth study of the meaning of the phrases “algorithmic reasoning” and “computational thinking” in the context of the education of MIT’s undergraduates across the Institute, including whether MIT should expect algorithmic and computational thinking of all of its graduates.

This subcommittee examined the emergence of undergraduate and graduate sub-term subjects across the Institute through an understanding of: (1) the overall trends and current situation, (2) the motivating aspirations and goals, and (3) the pedagogical value and the effects on student learning and life of such offerings.

The outcome of this year-long study is a detailed investigation of MIT community and culture: what makes MIT special, which elements of the culture support the MIT mission, what factors limit our success, and recommendations for improvement. Diversity, equity, and inclusion emerge as key parts of the MIT culture and not only as enablers of our mission.

In this final report, the Task Force offers a series of recommendations for how MIT can continue to transform education for future generations of learners.

The MITx Subcommittee of the FPC considered how to (a) provide faculty governance and oversight, (b) assign credit for online courses while assuring academic integrity, and (c) preserve the quality of the MIT educational program. Recommendations for managing intersections between MITx and other online coursework and the residential program are summarized and elaborated on in the report.

This is the report of a committee that was charged with conducting a thorough review of IAP and its evolution over the last 40 years.

This report concerns the current status of women faculty in the MIT Schools of Science and Engineering. It collates the experiences of women as MIT faculty members in Science and Engineering, and as leaders in their fields. It is a follow up to earlier reports.

This committee reviewed the kinds of individual and institutional relationships that could give rise to the perception or reality of conflicts of interest; assessed regulations, legal requirements, and best practices at other major institutions; and examined written and practiced policies and procedures related to conflicts of interest.

This is the final report of MIT's Institute-wide Planning Task Force, which was charged with identifying opportunities for efficiency and cost reduction that do not sacrifice MIT's core mission. It represents a concerted, inclusive, sustained effort to strengthen MIT by improving operations; preserve MIT's financial stability; and enhance its global leadership in research and education.

MIT President Charles M. Vest charged the Task Force on the Undergraduate Educational Commons to address the goals, content, and structure of MIT’s undergraduate education.

The Institute Faculty at its meeting of May 15, 2002 requested that CUP and CSL undertake a joint effort to consider advising and mentoring at MIT and to make recommendations to the faculty.

The FPC considers the recruitment of underrepresented minorities to the graduate student body and the faculty an issue of major importance for MIT. This white paper outlines some ideas that should be improved on, followed, or implemented.

The Task Force on Student Life and Learning not only talked of an identified weakness in our campus-wide community, but also described this weakness as an obstacle to the integration of formal and informal learning. The goal of the CSL in this white paper is to consider the dimensions of the situation and to propose some steps in a process towards addressing it.

A School of Science study in 1999 found that tenured women faculty often experienced marginalization and inequities in resources for research and compensation. To ensure equitable treatment of women faculty, Provost Bob Brown asked that similar studies be performed in the other Schools of MIT.

In the Fall of 1999, the Committee on the Undergraduate Program formed a subcommittee to review MIT’s policies and practices concerning freshman Pass/No Record grading and advanced placement credit. This is the final report that the CUP submitted to the MIT Faculty.

In the Fall of 1999 the Committee on the Undergraduate Program formed a subcommittee and charged it with reviewing MIT’s policies concerning freshman Pass/No Record grading and advanced placement examinations.

At its meeting on April 17, 1997, the Faculty directed the Committee on the Undergraduate Program to conduct a series of experiments and pilot programs to help in the design of a new Communication Requirement. These experiments should be evaluated by a subcommittee of the CUP.

The Residence System Steering Committee was appointed by the Chancellor to consider the MIT Residence System in total, and to describe a residence system for MIT that maximizes the opportunity to contribute to the integrated educational experience of its residents.

The goal of the Subcommittee was to understand and to convey, by a written report to the Faculty Policy Committee, the effect of the proposed changes in the Retirement Plan on its members, and to make suggestions for improvement.

MIT President Charles M. Vest appointed the Presidential Task Force on Student Life and Learning to undertake a comprehensive review of the Institute's educational mission and its implementation.

Provost John Deutch established a Faculty Study Group to advise the Institute Administration and Faculty on the general principles that should guide MITs international activities and relationships, and to suggest any revisions in policies and activities that should be considered.

The committee was appointed by President Paul Gray and Chair of the Faculty Bernard Frieden to propose guidelines for future departmental reorganizations or closings.

The Committee on Curriculum Content Planning was formed upon recommendation of the Committee on Educational Policy to make an intensive study of undergraduate education at MIT.