【argue197 gter三月机考小组090117第一次作业】

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197. The following appeared as part of a recommendation made by a faculty member to the president of a large university.


"Never once in our 150-year history as a university have we clarified our objectives. How, then, can we hope to adapt as an institution to the new challenges facing higher education. As a first step in this evolutionary process, therefore, we should send out questionnaires asking faculty members why they teach, asking students what they want from this university, and asking former students what they gained from their own education here. When the replies come in, we can tabulate them and formulate an official statement of our educational mission. This will surely result in improved programs at our university

In this article the faculty member recommends to formulate an educational mission for the university by sending out questionnaires in which three key questions are raised. (1)Why do faculty members teach in the university? (2)What do students want to learn from the university? (3)What did former students gain from the education? Close scrutiny of each of these facts, I find none of them would help to make a mission plan.

First question seems to be raised for collecting teachers’ suggestions. But it will not surely get its goal. Perhaps most faculty members do not have much idea about teaching affairs. They are teaching just to earn a living or they think it a relaxing job. Even some of the faculty members do have suggestions for the university, it is strongly possible that they will directly contact with the president or leader group instead of filling a questionnaire. So before the author can make sure how seriously other faculty will treat this questionnaire, it is not proper to conclude that this question would help to make the plan.

Secondly, inquire students for what they want to learn has little help. In that almost all the fresh men have little idea or experience about the specific course they will learn. It is difficult for them to critic or predict their future life in the university. Or even assuming that some of the students give the feedback of the subjects they want to learn, still it cannot be used as a standard for other students. On the other hand, satisfying the need of all students seems impossible. Since all students should be treated equally, there is no reason that some students’ advice are taken while others’ are not, not to say the demand of their parents. As I see it, this question will be of little help unless the university already has its tendency about what kind of suggestion should be taken.

Thirdly, the faculty member may hope to get the graduates’ impression of the university through the third question. But it is also not feasible. Perhaps those former students have graduated for many years, they cannot tell what they have gained from the education accurately. Or they will confuse the school knowledge with other knowledge they learnt from some education institution. Even if they remember all the things they gained from the university, it will have little reprensentitiveness. Because perhaps things changed quickly for both knowledge and way of education, even the similar course taught by different teachers will cause different results. So the reply of former students is not reliable for making any decision.

In sum, the questionnaire relies on certain doubtful assumptions that render it unconvincing as it stands. To bolster his plan the faculty member must do some further research about whether teachers and professors really have suggestions for the university and make an education plan for the fresh man. To better assess the recommendation, I would like to know if the former students are newly graduates. Without doing these jobs, I would not think it possible to formulate the education mission.
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