Starting the Fall Quarter of 2023, the University of California San Diego's Biology Department is discussing core changes to how discussion sections are structured. They are intent on reducing the number of TAs.  This could very well lead to 1 TA being in charge of approximately 100 students. If this is the case, discussion sections will be homogenized into massive sections. In addition, given the university's lack of space for classes with over 30 people, it is highly likely that sections will be forced to be held online.

Within the biology department at UC San Diego, our discussion sections are the foundation of the university’s quality of education, the formation of the student community, as well as student well-being. Making this drastic of a change will be detrimental to all three aspects of education in the biology department at UC San Diego.

With these changes, biology classes will essentially be reduced to lectures only, causing students to lose a significant portion of their interactions with the educational team, which have been shown to be critical to the understanding and retention of knowledge in STEM.

Many professors, including Christopher Day PhD, use discussion attendance intentionally as a way to check on student well-being and academic performance which would not be possible in larger discussions.

Furthermore, the lack of transparency that the administration has had with students suggests that they are aware that these changes to discussion sections will not have a positive impact on the quality of education and reputation of UC San Diego as a biological institution.

Also, it is not feasible for one TA to address the needs of 100 students in one discussion. No scenario exists where these changes will lead to better or equal educational results. Despite this, it is likely that we will be paying the same amount in tuition for this decrease in educational quality, which is not only unfair but also puts the students' well-being and future at risk. With less interaction between students and educators, what is to separate learning at UC San Diego from the University of Phoenix?

Our goal is to retain the same quality of education in biology through meaningful in-person interactions that are tailored to the students’ needs.  We believe this is more than fair, as it is what we were promised when we decided to attend UC San Diego.

Endorsed by:

Doctor Christopher Day, PhD - Division of Biological Science

Assistant Teaching Professor Melinda Owens, PhD - Department of Neurobiology

Professor Carolyn Kurle, PhD - Department of Ecology, Behavior & Evolution

Distinguished Professor Ethan Bier, PhD - Department of Cell and Developmental Biology

Doctor Andrew Cooper, PhD - Division of Biological Science

Assistant Teaching Professor Ashley Juavinett, PhD - Department of Neurobiology

Doctor Michael Burg, PhD - Division of Biological Science

Assistant Teaching Professor Claire Meaders, PhD - Department of Cell and Developmental Biology

Assistant Professor Sonya Neal, PhD - Department of Cell and Developmental Biology

Professor Amy Pasquinelli, PhD - Department of Molecular Biology

Doctor Jiyoung Park, PhD - Division of Biological Science

 

Special thanks to Richard Gao for co-writing this petition with me and for promoting the petition to professors and students alike. He played a vital role in kick-starting the petition and without him, we may not have gained the initial traction we needed to get the petition off the ground.  

I also want to thank Ethan Doan for helping edit and finalize the petition.  

Additionally, thank you to everyone and anyone who has shared or even just signed, your support is invaluable to us!