The administration will focus on the cluster system, which all Arts & Sciences students are required to complete in order to graduate. Clusters are pre-designed groupings of classes in each of the four different areas of the Arts & Sciences curriculum, which are Language & the Arts (LA), Natural Sciences (NS), Social Sciences (SS) and Textual & Historical Studies (TH).

According to Professor Mark Rollins, chair of the philosophy department and head of the curriculum review board, there are three things that could happen with the cluster system.
First, the system may be eliminated. In this case, the board would have to restructure the curriculum to ensure that students have breadth in their total coursework.

The second option would be to diminish the role of clusters in the curriculum. Cluster requirements would be less intense and would work in conjunction with another component of the curriculum to encourage students to take diverse courses. Under this option, the University may expand freshman programs and seminars.

The most likely option, however, would be to change cluster requirements. In this case, the University would amend the definitions of each of the four subject areas and which classes fall under them.

Some students said that they have had trouble fulfilling their clusters.

When this semester began, senior Stephen Hmiel discovered that although his environmental studies major fulfilled two clusters, he did not have enough classes to complete the LA cluster.

Although Hmiel had taken several courses in the writing program, none of them clustered together. As he attempted to appeal for a new cluster to be approved, Hmiel was told that he was too late.

“[The cluster system] is horribly broken, [but] I don’t think it has to be gotten rid of,” Hmiel said. “The school has to be more rigorous about making sure classes fall into clusters.”

The opportunity to appeal for new clusters closes after junior year.  When a cluster is approved, it does not become a permanent part of the Arts & Sciences curriculum and is only valid for the student who filed the appeal.

After speaking with one of the Arts & Science deans, Hmiel was granted an exception and given the opportunity to appeal. He was granted credit for a new LA cluster, titled “The Craft of Fiction Writing and Workshopping,” which consists of the courses Fiction Writing I and II.

But talking with the administration to receive credit posed problems for Hmiel, who believes that his fiction writing classes should have formed a cluster without a special appeal.

“I felt really stupid about having to write a page on how Fiction Writing I and II should cluster,” he said.  “I would have figured that they would have worked together in some fashion. I had to jump through this flaming hoop to get approved.”

This fall, five new clusters were approved for students—all of them fulfilling the language arts requirement.

Rollins acknowledged flaws in the current cluster system.

“We see this as a time to reflect on what Wash. U. is doing well. In that sense, it is clear that we are doing a lot of things well, but we can do them better,” Rollins said.

Other students, like freshman Christina Correa, saw positive aspects to the cluster system.
“I think it is a good way to encourage students to take classes that they would not normally try. They can potentially find interests out of their major,” Correa said.

The cluster system is not the only component of the Arts & Sciences curriculum under review. The committee, consisting of 16 faculty members, two students and an administrative presence, has been divided into three subcommittees. The other two subcommittees are working on amending the core curriculum and improving small-group experiences available to students.

“It is important for us to design the best curriculum that we can, but it is a big job,” Rollins said.