In a remarkable policy change, Boston College has decided to remove all major declarations for students in the College of Arts and Sciences class of 2010. All freshmen who currently have a designated major will be reclassified as undeclared after this semester's drop/add period. The decision is outlined in a letter from the Academic Advising Center, which states that it was made with the students' best interests in mind.
Since BC's admission process considers a stated field of interest to be a declaration of major upon entering the University, many freshmen start college with a pre-declared major.
The new policy will not eliminate this practice of the admission process, but the Advising Center hopes that it will allow for more consideration of the various options available to students. The removal will not occur until the first week of February, after the drop/add period, to ensure that it will not affect any current courses that freshmen are taking. All students who are currently enrolled in classes that are major-restricted will remain in them until the end of the semester.
According to the announcement, the new policy should lead to "increasing self-knowledge, reflection, and maturity in decision-making."
Elizabeth Studley Nathans, director of the Academic Advising Center, said that pre-declaration of majors had long been a topic of discussion, but the difficulty was in implementing a system that encourages more exploration.
"We worked out the logistics so that people will not be penalized in their course choices, but will easily be able to get the ones they need."
Accepting students into certain majors immediately after matriculation is a rare practice at top colleges. Most institutions ask applicants to declare an area of interest, but do not consider this a declaration of major. BC, on the other hand, has traditionally accepted students as pre-declared majors in their fields of interest.
Nathans explained that 30 percent of students nationwide who declare a major will eventually change to a different one.
She said that the declaration of a major during freshman year is unnecessary because the major requirements are "structured so that students need not declare a major in their first semester or year."
Nathans also mentioned that it is important for students to be exposed to many opportunities in order to make an informed decision. "Liberal arts institutions such as BC offer courses not available at even the best secondary schools. … Many students have never sampled some fields," she said.
Another concern that was expressed by Nathans was that students are often unready to make a decision about their field of study during their senior year of high school, and others may be convinced to make a choice based on family and social pressures. "We want people to make choices that they are happy with. We want them to make decisions that are genuinely theirs," she said.
Programs will be run throughout the spring to help students explore the numerous options available to them at Boston College. There will be seven programs in February alone, including four panels focused on deciding among the different disciplines.
While the major designations will be wiped clear in February, students will not have to make further decisions about their major status until fall registration in April. According to the letter, all freshmen in A&S will have to make one of three choices before fall registration: to remain undeclared, to reaffirm their original choice, or to declare a different major.
Declarations can be delivered in person at Student Services or e-mailed to the address found in the letter.
Additionally, advisers will remain the same for all freshmen until the end of the year. Afterward, if a new major is declared, the student will receive a new adviser for the following academic year.
"Inertia is a very powerful thing. We can't force people to think about their choices," said Nathans. "We want to make it as easy and open as possible for students to make the right decision about what they're good at and, in BC terms, what gives them joy."
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