SLU2000 courses are deemed a success.

Despite the cancellation of one course due to lack of interest, the courses boasting smaller class size and more student-faculty interaction have found a permanent place on the class list for Saint Louis University.

“Student response has been really good,” according to John Severson, Dean of Academic Services.

Associate Provost Ellen Harshman said that the classes are among the most exciting things they’re doing.

Harshman confirmed that only one SLU2000 course, atmospheric science, was cancelled due to low enrollment.

Assistant Provost, Julie Weissman, said that the classes will continue. “They’re really cool, and they’re really working,” she said. “This is the way education should be.”

The objectives of the courses are to create an active learning experience in smaller classes, fewer than 19 students.

The advantages are that one faculty member gets the chance to really know his or her students and adjust the material accordingly, Weissman said.

“The faculty members are raising their expectations, which the students are meeting,” she said. “The course content is made more relevant to the students.”

An example is the German 210 class. According to Weissman, the students are taking a retreat with their professors in which students and faculty alike speak only German for an entire weekend.

The numbers add up to success as well. In the fall semester, about 150 students were enrolled in SLU2000 courses, according to Weissman. One hundred and seventy-five students are enrolled in the courses for the spring semester.

The goal, Weissman said, is to offer 100 SLU2000 courses, so that every freshman will take at least one of them.

Assistant Registrar Tobin Harris said that the courses will continue due to enrollment success. Almost every course is within 90 percent of its maximum capacity.

“It’s successful at least from the enrollment point of view,” Harris said. “We’ll probably be adding more of these classes for next year.”

Student opinion is just as positive as that of the faculty.

Sophomore Shannon Wuebbels says she loves her SLU2000 history course. “It’s the best history class I’ve ever taken,” she said. “It’s more of a discussion group instead of being lectured to because of the smaller class size.”

Harshman said that student evaluations of the courses taken during the fall semester were excellent.

She referred to one student evaluation that said; “Please tell Father Biondi to make more classes like this.”

“Students learned things about how to learn, not just the course material,” Harshman said. “They can apply this knowedge to their other classes.”

There will be a conference in May for all of the professors teaching SLU2000 courses to share their experiences with other faculty, including the advisors from Academic Services.

“Then they should be better informed on how to present the benefits of these classes to the incoming freshman,” Harshman said.