This month saw the completion of the external review of the Education department, though no official report will be expected until the beginning of Spring term, Dean of the Faculty Ed Berger told The Dartmouth yesterday.
Berger said the review committee -- which consists of five reviewers, including Dartmouth professors and outside education experts -- still has to write the report."
Once written, the report will first be sent to the department itself so that they may review the contents.
After that it will be discussed at a meeting with the College deans and President James Wright, Berger said.
Education Department Chair Andrew Garrod declined to comment on what content may be included in the report, and said "the deans have asked me not to discuss anything, but my feeling is that it went well."
In all likelihood, Berger said, the report will not be made public matter.
"To my knowledge none of the [previous 39] external department reviews have been released publicly."
This is due to the nature of the reports that tend mostly to recommend improvements within the departments that are of little concern to the general public. Berger expects a similar report with little consequence for the future existence of the department.
Any issues in the report concerning its removal or amelioration would be cause for more public concern. "If there is anything other than a straightforward review, that's an entirely different issue," said Berger, "though I don't think it will come to that."
The members of the review committee include Dartmouth professors Mary Hudson and Colin Calloway; outside experts Susan Fuhrman, dean of Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania; Nel Noddings, former acting dean of the Stanford University Graduate School of Education; and Cynthia Garca-Coll, a developmental psychologist and professor of Education at Brown University.
