Supporters of the system say thoughtful discussions and the FAS bureaucracy helps safeguard against rash and short-term solutions.

"You are almost bound by integrity to a thorough decision making process," Rudenstine says. "Change ought to be thoughtful."

And it must keep with precedent.

With no guaranteed position amidst FAS, the College--faculty and students alike--must rely on the strong advocacy of administrators to stay a priority amidst FAS and the University as a whole.

Illingworth says he thinks the history of Harvard and the reputation of the undergraduate experience "is so important to the appeal of Harvard."

"I think that you can have both, the expansion of the University with interest and emphasis on the College as the core of the University," he says. "I am ever vigilant, but I'm not worried that the College losing its central place."

Still others express concern that non-academic initiatives that would greatly improve the undergraduate experience are being ignored.

"I think personally, its time for the college to move towards the center of the screen," Dingman says.