Dartmouth responds by making sure its class sizes remain small and its student-faculty ratios kept low. We're proud to say that there are more small classes at Dartmouth today than there have been in the last decade, reflecting President James Wright's priority to increase the number of faculty at the College. Within the last ten years, about 40 new faculty members have been hired and the student-faculty ratio is now 8 to 1, down from 9 to 1 in 2002 and 12 to 1 in 1997.
In 2006, there were 37,032 total course enrollments, and more than 65 percent of classes had fewer than 20 students. Only 1,392 requests, or 3.6 percent of total enrollments, were not filled, which means that 96.4 percent of undergraduate course enrollment requests were met. In a recent survey 91 percent of students said they were satisfied with the size of classes at Dartmouth.
One consequence of ensuring small classes and culminating senior seminars is that students cannot always get into sections at the exact time or term that they request. "Close-outs" at Dartmouth are most common in upper level seminars where the faculty keep the total enrollment below 20 to ensure the best experience, or in laboratory or studio courses where facilities also demand a small course size. They also occur, although much less frequently, in large introductory courses in popular subjects, or when taught by well-known professors.
It is generally true that if students do not get a seminar or studio choice in one term, they get another similar course that term or the same course in another term. So, for example, when some students began having problems getting into courses in some departments (particularly in Economics and Government), we responded by adding faculty and sections and increasing our advising support so students understand the need for advance planning and flexibility in the timing of selected sections.
Q: Could you tell me the source of the stat that "96% of class requests are met" and how it is calculated?
A: The BannerStudent system, used by students to select courses, is the source of the data where the total number of course enrollments at the end of term was compared to the number of enrollment requests not fulfilled. While it is certainly possible to find students who may, at one time or another, engage in conversations about what dissatisfies them, most people familiar with the willingness of faculty to accommodate students at Dartmouth recognize the extraordinary flexibility and variety of course options for students. Dartmouth students have consistently gotten the courses they requested to complete a complex set of major and general education requirements, to gain entry into some of the best graduate schools, and to satisfy their intellectual curiosity.
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