According to Associate Dean of the Faculty Rick Griffiths, a member of the committee, the CAP will primarily consider whether the education offered at the College is effective enough for the entire student body, what the College can learn from its peer institutions and whether the College is ahead of the curve on developments in academic and artistic fields, technology and effective methods of teaching. The CAP will also consider whether, given the constantly changing American and global society, graduates of the College leave well-equipped to succeed.
Marx said the CAP will focus on education, but decisions it makes will guide fundraising goals. "This is the committee that really will be saying where are we, where should we be heading, how do we get there, and that discussion will then inform the board's decision about what it needs to raise money for," he said. "We think it's very important that the conversations be focused on the education priorities and aspirations of Amherst College and [that we] let those determine the financial requirements."
Marx believes the CAP will help the College to make necessary educational changes. "The basic idea is that in serious education institutions, we need to step back on a regular basis and assess what it is that we're doing and what it is that we think we could do differently or better," he said.
According to Griffiths, the formation of committees with similar functions to the CAP is common in academia. "Planning as self assessment is continual in academic and administrative departments and on committees," he said. "Periodically, information has to be gathered, distilled and presented to faculty, students and staff in order to determine what our ... priorities should be and where our resources should go."
Marx initially proposed that the CAP consist of 12 people, including one student. At last week's meeting of the Association of Amherst Students (AAS), a number of senators argued that one student would not be representative enough of the student body.
AAS President Ryan Park '05 discussed the senators' concerns with Marx, who agreed that a second student senator should serve on the committee, but Park is petitioning for more. The committee also consists of two staff representatives, one of whom will be appointed by the board of trustees.
"I welcome change, but my issue with this committee in my position as a senator is that it needs to have greater student participation," said Senator Elan Ghazal '05.
"There has been a lot of concern within the Senate ... that one seat isn't adequate student representation on such an important committee," said Park. "President Marx has been ... receptive to our point of view and I will continue to engage him in this conversation."
Marx and Griffiths met with the Committee of Six to get recommendations on which faculty members would serve most effectively on the committee. They came up with a comprehensive list of professors from a variety of disciplines.
Marx and Griffiths asked the faculty to consider, within their departments, changes that they hope to see within their fields. By the time CAP begins its work, Marx and Griffiths hope that the departments will have had sufficient time to formulate ideas for change and development.
"This committee is really exciting to me because it is an extensive, proactive effort to take a step back and look at the Amherst educational experience as a whole," said Park. "Hopefully, after examining our existing educational system, the committee will be able to come up with a wide-ranging set of initiatives that will improve upon it."