University faculty discussed the status and future of the Justice Brandeis Semester program at last Thursday's faculty meeting, at which Dean of Arts and Sciences Adam Jaffe led a discussion about what is still considered a pilot program.In an interview with the Justice, Jaffe explained that despite this discussion, the program is not being changed but simply being reviewed. "It was brought up at the faculty meeting because the faculty asked for an update, . and we're still in sort of a pilot phase. I think eventually we will make some decisions about whether we want to continue it in its current form or perhaps make some changes, but there's nothing imminent," he said.

Senior Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences Elaine Wong wrote in an e-mail to the Justice that there is currently "no need to refocus [the program], as JBS was always a signature [experiential learning] opportunity." Jaffe explained that JBS allows students to engage in a more intensive experiential learning program that would not be possible "within the confines of the normal academic calendar . when they're taking three other courses from three other professors."

JBS was originally planned as a program that would allow students to study off campus during the fall semester for a semester, reducing the strain on campus resources due to a growing student population, according to the original proposal.

A March 6, 2009 Justice article explained that, according to Jaffe, "the proposals were passed in an effort to increase Brandeis' applicant pool to 1,000 over the next four years and increase the undergraduate student body by 100 students per year for four years."

According to the minutes from the March 5, 2009 faculty meeting, where the JBS proposal was introduced, Prof. Sacha Nelson (BIOL), who co-chaired the subcommittee of the Curriculum and Academic Restructuring Steering Committee responsible for developing JBS, stated that "the motivation for this [JBS] proposal is the additional 100 students/year and how it affects housing, dining and classrooms."

The JBS program was originally passed in a first reading at a faculty meeting on March 5, 2009 meeting and in a second reading one week later.

The March 6, 2009 Justice article noted that faculty expressed concern that the JBS proposal had been brought to a vote prematurely. "I don't think many of us know what we're voting for," Prof. Mary Baine Campbell (ENG) said during the discussion at the March 5, 2009 meeting.

Jaffe said in his interview that moving students off campus for a semester is no longer a goal of the program. "We pretty much decided that the JBS as a mechanism for getting students off campus doesn't work. So we have given up on that objective as through the JBS program," he said.

Jaffe also said that there has been discussion regarding the number of JBS programs being offered.

"Some [faculty] thought that we'd like to be offering more than we have been, but also some question whether the demand is there for more, so that's up in the air," he said.

He explained that another point of discussion is the current structure of the program.

The current program is worth 12 credits, though the possibility of an eight-credit program is currently under consideration, which would be "less expensive but also less intense," said Jaffe.

At Thursday's meeting, the faculty discussed possible reasons the JBS program has not been as popular as they had originally expected, including the cost and timing of the program.

"It's clear that that cost is one of the reasons why more students aren't interested. So that's one of the things we're thinking about . if we wanted to get more students interested," Jaffe said.

Wong explained in her e-mail that the cost of a summer JBS is currently set at 75 percent of the cost of a normal Brandeis semester tuition, though financial aid is available. She also wrote that normal summer classes are charged by course.

According to the Office of Student Financial Services website, tuition for the 2011 to 2012 academic year is $20,257 per semester. Three-quarters of that amount is $15,192.75, for 12 credits or $1,266.06 per credit.

According to the Brandeis Summer School website, tuition for the summer 2011 semester will be $2,160 for a four-credit lecture course, or $540 per credit, and $1,450 for a two-credit lab course, or $725 per credit.

Jaffe also pointed out that "for summer programs, there's just a lot of different things that students either like to do or need to do in the summer, and [JBS] may not fit in."

Jaffe said in his interview with the Justice that the current discussions will not affect this year's program four JBS offerings but that "whether we would make any changes for the following year will be decided over the next 6 [to] 8 months."

JBS Program Manager Alyssa Grinberg wrote in an e-mail to the Justice, "As we move forward with the four JBS offerings in 2011, we will continue to assess the programs and their impacts."


-Fiona Lockyer and Sara Dejene contributed reporting.