Reports

This statement, drafted by the MIT Ad Hoc Working Group on Free Expression and amended by the MIT Faculty through extensive discussion and debate, was adopted by the Faculty on December 21, 2022.

The report makes recommendations for changes to MIT policies, procedures, and practices designed to mitigate the risks that certain categories of visitors pose to the MIT community.

The president, provost, and chancellor of MIT, along with the chair of the MIT faculty, convened the Ad Hoc Working Group on Free Expression in February 2022. The Group was charged with reviewing MIT’s statements on free expression, recommending changes as needed, reviewing input from MIT stakeholders, devising scenarios to illustrate its recommendations, and suggesting principles and processes for decision making.

With a tradition of celebrating provocative thinking, controversial views, and nonconformity, MIT unequivocally endorses the principles of freedom of expression and academic freedom.

What are the things that we learned how to do during the pandemic that faculty and instructors across MIT are now, already, building into their on-campus teaching? The Ad Hoc Committee on Leveraging Best Practices from Remote Teaching for On-Campus Education has asked this question broadly across MIT.

The Ad Hoc Committee on MITx and MITx Online focused on MIT’s strategy with respect to the production and distribution of open online educational material.

Vice Chancellor Ian Waitz convened the MIT Committee on Student Career Exploration and Services to review aspects and activities associated with student career exploration and services, and to identify changes that would enhance exploration of, and access to, a broad range of careers in a manner that best serves student needs.

In October 2019, in response to concerns over the nature and motivation of gifts from certain outside sources of funding, and the potential effects of MIT’s associations with such sources, Provost Martin Schmidt charged the Ad Hoc Committee to Review MIT Gift Processes with understanding MIT’s current gift processes and recommending changes to ensure MIT’s process is aligned with the Institute’s values.

The Ad Hoc Faculty Committee on Guidelines for Outside Engagements was convened by Chair of the Faculty Rick Danheiser in October 2019 to define a set of values and principles, consistent with MIT’s mission, to guide the assessment of outside engagements, including grants, gifts, and any other associations and collaborations with governments, corporations, foundations, or private individuals, domestic or

As part of its charge, MIT's Council on Family and Work sponsors the MIT Faculty and Staff Quality of Life Survey, which is administered to faculty, other instructional staff, researchers, postdocs, administrative staff, support staff, and service staff on MIT’s main campus and at Lincoln Laboratory. This report emphasizes the 2016 results.

Over the past two years, the Subcommittee on the HASS Requirement (SHR) conducted the first full review of how the Concentration Component of the HASS Requirement is functioning.

This plan envisions a new and less provisional phase of international engagement for MIT. The plan is designed to create a more robust and durable platform to support the international initiatives of individual faculty, while also establishing a principled framework for selecting and undertaking larger-scale activities to increase MIT’s impact in the world.

A five-School group of faculty convened by the Chair of the Faculty and the Dean for Undergraduate Education conducted an in-depth study of the meaning of the phrases “algorithmic reasoning” and “computational thinking” in the context of the education of MIT’s undergraduates across the Institute, including whether MIT should expect algorithmic and computational thinking of all of its graduates.

Chancellor Cynthia Barnhart and Medical Director Cecilia Stuopis charged the committee to review MIT's policies on hospitalization and medical leave for both undergraduate as well as graduate students.

This subcommittee examined the emergence of undergraduate and graduate sub-term subjects across the Institute through an understanding of: (1) the overall trends and current situation, (2) the motivating aspirations and goals, and (3) the pedagogical value and the effects on student learning and life of such offerings.

Chancellor Cynthia Barnhart charged the Committee on Academic Performance and the Office of the Dean for Undergraduate Education with reviewing MIT's withdrawal and readmission processes.

The outcome of this year-long study is a detailed investigation of MIT community and culture: what makes MIT special, which elements of the culture support the MIT mission, what factors limit our success, and recommendations for improvement. Diversity, equity, and inclusion emerge as key parts of the MIT culture and not only as enablers of our mission.

This report highlights findings from a deep dive into the results of the 2012 Quality of Life Survey focusing on responses by MIT faculty and staff.

In this final report, the Task Force offers a series of recommendations for how MIT can continue to transform education for future generations of learners.

The MITx Subcommittee of the FPC considered how to (a) provide faculty governance and oversight, (b) assign credit for online courses while assuring academic integrity, and (c) preserve the quality of the MIT educational program. Recommendations for managing intersections between MITx and other online coursework and the residential program are summarized and elaborated on in the report.

The Provost appointed the Graduate Student Housing Working Group to evaluate how graduate student housing needs are currently met, identify strengths and weaknesses in the current system, and make recommendations for meeting graduate housing needs in the future.

Pursuant to a 2009 vote of the Faculty, the Working Group to Assess the September Student Holiday Experiment recommends a move of the September student holiday from a Monday to a Friday, and that the Rules and Regulations of the Faculty be updated to reflect this change.

This is the report of a committee that was charged with conducting a thorough review of IAP and its evolution over the last 40 years.

The Task Force on Community Engagement in 2030 Planning was appointed in August 2012 by Provost Chris Kaiser and asked to provide guidance on upcoming decisions related to campus development within the context of the capital planning process known as MIT 2030.

This report concerns the current status of women faculty in the MIT Schools of Science and Engineering. It collates the experiences of women as MIT faculty members in Science and Engineering, and as leaders in their fields. It is a follow up to earlier reports.

The committee is charged with a high level review of the process of, not the intellectual and educational standards for, granting tenure.

This committee reviewed the kinds of individual and institutional relationships that could give rise to the perception or reality of conflicts of interest; assessed regulations, legal requirements, and best practices at other major institutions; and examined written and practiced policies and procedures related to conflicts of interest.

The report of the Initiative on Faculty Race and Diversity is a detailed study of how race affects the recruitment, retention, professional opportunities, and collegial experiences of underrepresented minority faculty at MIT.

This is the final report of MIT's Institute-wide Planning Task Force, which was charged with identifying opportunities for efficiency and cost reduction that do not sacrifice MIT's core mission. It represents a concerted, inclusive, sustained effort to strengthen MIT by improving operations; preserve MIT's financial stability; and enhance its global leadership in research and education.

The work of the CUP Subcommittee on the Educational Commons built on the final report of the Task Force on the Undergraduate Educational Commons, taking into account reactions to that report by the wider MIT community following its presentation to the President in October 2006.

The committee was asked to review current policies for funding graduate students at MIT and to recommend any policy or other changes necessary in order to continue to attract the very best graduate students to MIT and to maintain excellence in our graduate programs.

MIT President Charles M. Vest charged the Task Force on the Undergraduate Educational Commons to address the goals, content, and structure of MIT’s undergraduate education.

The Special Committee to Review the Discipline System was charged by Chancellor Phillip Clay and Professor Rafael Bras, Chair of the Faculty, to assess the Committee on Discipline and the Office of the Dean for Student Life procedures and processes, and to identify places where changes are needed to make them consistent, transparent, and fair; set standards and outline procedures for specific types of cases; recommend

The Institute Faculty at its meeting of May 15, 2002 requested that CUP and CSL undertake a joint effort to consider advising and mentoring at MIT and to make recommendations to the faculty.

This committee was charged by Provost Robert A. Brown to define the detailed implementation of a new faculty housing assistance plan.

The FPC considers the recruitment of underrepresented minorities to the graduate student body and the faculty an issue of major importance for MIT. This white paper outlines some ideas that should be improved on, followed, or implemented.

The purpose of the 2001 Quality of Life Survey was to investigate the factors that contribute to quality of life for faculty and staff at MIT, and the implications for the future of MIT.

This committee was established jointly by the Provost and the Chairman of the Faculty to examine MIT’s policies dealing with restrictions on research, such as those arising from classified or industry-sponsored research.

A School of Science study in 1999 found that tenured women faculty often experienced marginalization and inequities in resources for research and compensation. To ensure equitable treatment of women faculty, Provost Bob Brown asked that similar studies be performed in the other Schools of MIT.

In the Fall of 1999, the Committee on the Undergraduate Program formed a subcommittee to review MIT’s policies and practices concerning freshman Pass/No Record grading and advanced placement credit. This is the final report that the CUP submitted to the MIT Faculty.

This report, from the CUP Subcommittee on the Communication Requirement (SOCR) and its affiliated Implementation Working Group, describes the progress made in carrying out the charge of the CUP “to oversee and establish policy for the Communication Requirement” and to develop “an implementation plan that outlines the administrative processes for the Communication Requirement.”

In the Fall of 1999 the Committee on the Undergraduate Program formed a subcommittee and charged it with reviewing MIT’s policies concerning freshman Pass/No Record grading and advanced placement examinations.

The Subcommittee was asked to re-examine the Faculty regulations governing the administration of quizzes, tests, and examinations during the regular term as well as the Faculty regulations governing the end of term.

At its meeting on April 17, 1997, the Faculty directed the Committee on the Undergraduate Program to conduct a series of experiments and pilot programs to help in the design of a new Communication Requirement. These experiments should be evaluated by a subcommittee of the CUP.

MIT's residential system should try to support three separate objectives: provide students with adequate, clean, comfortable housing and dining; create a comfortable, welcoming environment – in other words, a home; and promote community by stimulating interaction among students, faculty, staff, administration, and alumni/ae.

The Residence System Steering Committee was appointed by the Chancellor to consider the MIT Residence System in total, and to describe a residence system for MIT that maximizes the opportunity to contribute to the integrated educational experience of its residents.

The Faculty (through the Committee on the Undergraduate Program) and the administration (through the Office of the Dean of Students and Undergraduate Education) have established a committee of faculty to review the current educational commons, particularly the freshman educational program, and make recommendations about how it might be redesigned to be more effective.

The goal of the Subcommittee was to understand and to convey, by a written report to the Faculty Policy Committee, the effect of the proposed changes in the Retirement Plan on its members, and to make suggestions for improvement.

In 1995, the Dean of Science established a Committee to analyze the status of women faculty in the six departments in the School of Science. This report describes the resulting efforts to understand and ameliorate the long-term effects of discrimination in academia.

MIT President Charles M. Vest appointed the Presidential Task Force on Student Life and Learning to undertake a comprehensive review of the Institute's educational mission and its implementation.

The Committee on Student Affairs (CSA) called for the establishment of the Food Services Working Group to study the current dining system and recommend changes. The goal was a comprehensive change of the entire system of food delivery on campus.

The Ad Hoc Working Group was asked by the President and the Dean for Undergraduate Education and Student Affairs to review a number of past reports of committees charged with evaluating different aspects of undergraduate life at MIT.

In the spring of 1989 the Faculty passed a motion endorsing the addition of biology to the Science Requirement. The Committee on the Science Requirement was formed to examine how the new biology requirement might be implemented and how the Science Requirement should be modified to accommodate it.

Provost John Deutch established a Faculty Study Group to advise the Institute Administration and Faculty on the general principles that should guide MITs international activities and relationships, and to suggest any revisions in policies and activities that should be considered.

The committee was asked to (1) determine current demographics and related needs of faculty, staff, and students; (2) review current services, policies, procedures, and benefits affecting family responsibilities, and suggest ways of meeting needs better within the constraints of financial resources; and (3) suggest policies that would help harmonize family and career responsibilities at MIT.

The committee was appointed by President Paul Gray and Chair of the Faculty Bernard Frieden to propose guidelines for future departmental reorganizations or closings.

The Ad Hoc Committee to Review the Creative Arts at MIT was created by Provost John Deutch in late September 1986. The Committee was charged to review and assess all of the creative arts activities at MIT and to make recommendations on their role, organization and support.

In May 1985, the Chair of the Faculty appointed an ad hoc committee to explore the impact on education at MIT due to the shift of government support for scientific research and education from the civilian to the military sector. The committee was charged to "gather facts, organize them in a suitable fashion, and present them to the faculty for discussion".

The committee was charged to take a fresh look at dining at MIT: to identify strengths and problems in the current dining opportunities on campus; to develop goals for the dining program as part of the overall student experience at MIT, and to assess the university’s responsibilities in this regard; and to explore alternatives to the current operating modes and dining offerings.

The committee’s goals were to: examine alternative proposals made by several food service vendors and make recommendations; examine the economic and social implications of various plans for organization of the dining service; and study the future role of food and food service facilities at MIT. [NOTE: This is Part 1. The whereabouts of Part 2 are unknown.]

The Committee on Curriculum Content Planning was formed upon recommendation of the Committee on Educational Policy to make an intensive study of undergraduate education at MIT.

In January 1947, the Faculty appointed the Committee on Educational Survey to review the state of education at the Institute.