Professors’ names will no longer be visible to students pre-registering for social science and civilization studies Core courses, several professors in the Social Sciences Collegiate Division told the Maroon.
This change will take effect beginning with pre-registration for autumn quarter 2026 and “reflects the need to schedule instructors and distribute seats across offerings in general education in the Social Sciences,” according to Katelyn Yoshimoto, a spokesperson for the College.
“Removing instructor names during pre-registration gives the College greater flexibility to balance enrollments across all sections and instructors, and to accommodate scheduling adjustments for both students and instructors… while maintaining appropriately sized discussion-based seminars,” Yoshimoto said.
Others with whom the Maroon spoke attributed the change to several factors, including concerns about students selecting professors with reputations for less rigorous grading policies. According to one professor, the civilization studies program in particular has expressed concerns about grade inflation, echoing concerns raisedat other elite universities.
According to Yoshimoto, the new policy was produced following a “deliberative process” between the chairs and masters of the affected programs and Dean of the College Melina Hale. Yoshimoto did not address questions about grade-based motivations for the new policy.