"We have a lot of undergraduate requirements in comparison with other universities," Pedersen said. "We would want the effect [of the proposed changes] to be freeing on the curriculum."

But, Pedersen said, the initiative would ultimately have to come from the Faculty, since Faculty members will have to contribute time and resources for the seminar program to grow.

" There are many worthy goals in terms of undergraduate education," Pedersen said. "Our concerns are always whether we can meet all of them what are the tradeoffs."

For instance, while Pedersen said she would like freshman seminar offerings to expand to even more areas beyond the humanities, she said some innovation is needed to conceive of small-group instructional experiences within the sciences.

Departmental resources will also play a key role in whether any of these changes can occur.

"The science departments feel very stretched and a bit short-staffed, and they're worried about their capacity to offer freshman seminars and, at the same time, to offer intro classes regularly and have them well-taught," Pedersen said.

Although members of the Faculty will debate the merits of the proposal at a Faculty meeting tomorrow, Pedersen said she is unsure when Faculty will vote on the particular changes.