Icy downpours, slippery pathways, and the need to don four layers of clothing to keep warm while braving Boston winters are all factors that might deter students from attending their 9 a.m. classes. Some students, however, may no longer need to find their umbrellas and snow boots to get to class - they might not even have to change out of their slippers.
This semester, Boston College is beginning a new initiative that brings classes to the residence halls. Currently, seven classes are being conducted in study lounges in the connectors of some of the residence halls on Upper Campus. If this first trial run proves to be successful, this number will likely continue to increase in future years.
These classes are part of an attempt by the University to increase interaction between faculty and students and improve the intellectual environment on campus by further integrating academics with the rest of student life.
About 100 students are currently participating in this initial experiment with more informal, residence-based classes, each of which is limited to roughly 15 students. While students from all years are currently participating in these seminar classes, the majority of the students are freshmen who are taking First Year Writing Seminar. Donald Hafner, Vice Provost of Undergraduate Affairs, said that he hopes to expand the number of these types of classes next year and revive courses taught at Newton Campus.
"Ideally, what we would do is have students take classes on Upper [Campus] who live on Upper, and likewise ... for Newton Campus," Hafner said.
Hafner said that conducting classes in the residence halls offers important advantages to both students and faculty alike. The program would aim to create a more intimate environment that would help foster discussions that would hopefully be carried from the make-shift study-lounge classrooms into the hallways and residence hall rooms.
"How nice would it be if the students of the First Year [Writing] Seminar have classes in the residence halls so the people they would be taking classes with would also be the people they were talking with at breakfast and dinner?" Hafner said.
All of the classes that are being held in the residence halls are smaller in size, indicating that there is also a practical issue driving the initiative: BC simply doesn't have a sufficient number of spaces that would be suitable for seminar-type classes. "What we desperately need are places to hold those classes that are much more appropriate," Hafner said. "It so happens that the residence halls actually have quite a number of spaces about that size."
This will likely come into play in deciding how buildings will be constructed and utilized as the Master Plan comes to fruition. Hafner said that he hoped the new residence halls would include meeting-room spaces for classes, lectures, and academic events, as well as spaces for cultural events and performances by both students and faculty. To further facilitate relations between faculty and students, some faculty members would serve as heads of the residence halls. Although it would be highly unlikely that the faculty would be living in the buildings with students, Hafner said, they would be working on programming and serve as a liason and sounding board for student ideas.
"If you had to make an appointment to talk to one of your friends down the hallway, it wouldn't be much of a friendship," Hafner said. "You can think of your relationship with faculty in the same way."
These new steps that may be undertaken are not meant to be intrusive or disruptive Hafner said, but should only enhance student experiences while at BC.
"If we people have the image that we're going to wander around the dorms, knocking down doors and forcing students to talk to faculty - no, we won't be doing that," Hafner said. "I would think of it not as trying to ruin everyone's fun, but instead think of it as offering a little bit more to students."
Hafner said students have responded positively to the initial step by administration to strengthen faculty-student relations and increase the level of intellectual discussion, and the classes in the residence halls have been well-received by both the students participating and the faculty members who volunteered to conduct these classes.
"The report I have from students is that they are wildly enthusiastic about this," Hafner said. "One comment I've heard is that it's a lot easier for them to get to class first thing in the morning."
Professors who are currently conducting these residence-based classes said that afternoon classes can benefit as well. "I think the students really like it," said professor Marla De Rosa, who teaches First Year Writing Seminar in the connector lounge of CLFX "The class is from 3 to 4 on Tuesday and Thursday, and for most students it's the end of the day - they can go up there for class and then they are done."
De Rosa said she is enjoying teaching the class, and that the residence hall created a more intimate atmosphere that made the students more comfortable and facilitated class discussions. It was also nice to see students outside of the traditional classroom setting, De Rosa said.
"I kind of get to see a different side of students - not that they're acting that differently, but I see other students in the dorms. I've honestly never wandered up to the dorms before, and I guess I've liked that as well," De Rosa said.
Professor Ricco Siasoco of the English department, who conducts First Year Writing Seminar and an introduction to creative writing class in the lounges that connect Fitzpatrick and Gonzaga Halls, also said that the new environment changed the tone of his classes.
"I think in one way it actually makes the students focus more because it's such a foreign environment for them to have class in. They're not as much on autopilot as they would be in a classroom. It really just sort of changes the entire environment," Siasoco said.
Some students have said that they would not want to take classes in residence halls because they felt they would be too informal, or were worried that it would encroach upon the non-academic aspects of their lives.
"In terms of the environment, I think it would be too relaxed," said Matt Kuchar, A&S '11. "I don't think it would improve the academic atmosphere, and I don't think it would do anything to help integrate student life and academic life."
Other students admitted that while the classes might be more convenient, they still would prefer to have class in a traditional setting. "I lived on Newton last year, and maybe [having classes on Newton] would have been easier so I wouldn't have had to take the bus, but I still feel like classes should be separated from our living area," said Kara DeMichele, A&S '10. "Yeah, people study in the lounges, but I feel like the dorms are your place to get away from classes."
Whether students agree or disagree with the educational benefits of conducting classes in residence halls, these classes do have certain benefits that students might find attractive.
"Yeah, I would like to have a class that is two minutes away," said Ben Rawling, A&S '11. "If it was my first class, it would be sweet - just wake up and walk down the hall."
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