By:
Ryan Chen, David Pare, Fredi Ruiz, Justin Beristain
Abstract:
A key issue affecting Brooklyn College, as well as universities across the country, is decreased student enrollment. The course SEED 1001: Critical Issues in US Education and its teaching faculty were approached with a proposal to integrate “Campus as a Lab” to its curriculum, effectively adding a data and policy analysis laboratory. Some preliminary analysis is also performed to demonstrate what results students in the course might find. We found that the bulk of the Brooklyn College student body is undergraduates residing in Brooklyn. Both new admissions and student retainment have been on the decline since 2020, leading to an overall decrease in enrollment. These trends are also echoed in the greater CUNY system. We generally attribute these trends to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as economic and social factors pushing students away from college. However, significant efforts are underway to reverse the trend, such as the return to in-person classes, improvements to administrative processes, and the proposed New Deal for CUNY.
Sasha Jamal
December 8, 2022 — 10:12 pm
This project concept is really interesting! I like that instead of proposing a new class altogether you focused on the feasibility of incorporating it into an existing class that has a curriculum focused around issues in US education. Would your theoretical lab be computer science/analysis based? Would it be more feasible to incorporate this as a semester long project with a research paper rather than create a whole new lab?