TASK FORCE PUBLICATIONS

d'Arbeloff Call for Proposals, 2005

In September, 2005, the Task Force on the Undergraduate Educational Commons in collaboration with the Office of the Dean for Undergraduate Education and the d'Arbeloff Fund for Excellence in Education solicited proposals for ambitious projects to enhance the first-year educational experience of our undergraduates. Early in their deliberations, the Task Force recognized that the freshman-year experience is key to helping MIT students develop a passion for learning that will endure throughout their stay at MIT, and, indeed, throughout their lives. While the Task Force heard from many faculty the opinion that the freshman experience at MIT can be improved, few specifics had been offered.

With the d'Arbeloff Grant Call for Proposals , the Task Force hoped to stimulate the development of concrete educational experiments that can serve as models for future subject offerings outside the major programs. The Preliminary Call targeted three areas:

• Project-based experiences
• The Freshman HASS experience
• Broadening the science and engineering fundamentals

MacVicar Day Presentation Handout, March 4, 2005

On March 4, 2005, the Task Force provided an update on its progress to approximately 160 members of the MIT community during MacVicar Day. Professor Bob Silbey, chair of the Task Force presented the Task Force's statement of the goals of an MIT education and reviewed the various proposals currently being considered by the Task Force. To find out more, dowload a copy of the presentation and the handout.