In Ten by Twenty, President Daniels presents his vision for what the University should achieve by the year 2020. It is an ambitious document that plans among other things, to make Hopkins an even greater research institution than it is, while also driving the undergraduate program to one of the top ten in the country.
Some might contend that this singular rankings-based focus on the undergraduate experience is worrisome. Indeed, the methodology used by the various rankings systems remains questionable as a measure of the actual quality of the programs. However, because the rankings are driven by specific metrics it also makes this goal quantifiable in a way few of the others are. This page hopes that the focus on improving clearly defined variables leads to an observable improvement in the undergraduate program.
But for all the desire to improve the undergraduate experience, little is mentioned in Ten by Twenty about undergraduate student life. Given how much of a concern increasing undergraduate student satisfaction is, the lack of plans on how to deal with it is of concern.
If President Daniels truly hopes to make the undergraduate experience better he will have to deal with the various issues that make students less than satisfied. Identifying what factors precisely are key to increasing satisfaction on campus may be complicated, but making the academic experience more enjoyable may be a good place to start. The engineering core, for one, is grueling. Academic advising also needs significant improvement, which Daniels mentions in his plan. Some departments are losing their best professors while others are cutting the classes they offer. Making improvements in these areas would go a long way to making undergraduate life better.
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