The final decision regarding the future of Dartmouth's embattled education department has been delayed until later this week.
Originally scheduled to be resolved by last Friday, the negotiations still need to sort out a few last- minute details and should be complete by Wednesday, Dean of Social Sciences George Wolford said Friday.
He said there had been a "tiny glitch" but "things are on a fairly good course and there are no problems."
For the past couple of weeks, Wolford has been negotiating with Education Chair Andrew Garrod about what will happen to the department.
Over the past several years the education department has periodically come under fierce criticism -- most recently last March when the Council of Social Sciences recommended eliminating the department.
Last week, both Garrod and Wolford said the department will most likely not be abolished, but will probably be changed.
"Students will be relieved, but not ecstatic, if things go as planned," Wolford previously told The Dartmouth.
Last March, the council recommended the department's abolition but did not fully divulge the reasons behind the proposal.
Some members of the council -- composed of the eight chairs of the social sciences departments -- cited administrative problems, interpersonal conflicts, the department's low production of scholarly work and its pre-professional slant as reasons for their recommendations.
In response, many students rallied behind the besieged department. In March, Anne Jones '97, who was then a teaching assistant for Education 20, organized an open forum for students to question Dean Wolford about closing the department.
The students who spoke voiced their support for the department and questioned the reasons behind wanting to eliminate it.
Garrod took over as chair this July, and since then has been working hard to improve the department from the inside and bolster its prestige. So far, he has had some success--enrollments in education courses this term have been "the best in years," he said last week.
Although Garrod and Wolford are the agents negotiating change, other education professors have been involved in the process, and Dean of the Faculty Jim Wright would give final approval, Wolford said.
