Last Wednesday, Bwog got the chance to sit down with Deantini to talk about the McKinsey report, financial aid, admissions policy, and a bunch of other things College-related.

McKinsey Report: We first asked Deantini how he felt about Spec’s publishing of an executive summary of the McKinsey report. To our surprise, he said he was happy it had come out, and relieved it had only been leaked and publicized now, rather than in Fall 2011. The reason? Arts & Sciences (which encompasses the College, GSAS, GS, the School of the Arts, and SIPA) recently completed an administrative reorganization that was very different from what McKinsey advised last year.

While McKinsey’s recommendations would have seriously diminished the power and authority of the College dean—infamously, McKinsey suggested that the dean should be responsible only for “the care and feeding of undergraduates”—the latest changes to A&S actually confer more power upon the Dean of the College. Deantini now has a spot on the executive committee of the A&S, the three-member group (the other two members being the Dean of GSAS and Executive Vice President of A&S, Nicholas Dirks) that has the final say on the budget for all of A&S. Thanks to these reforms of A&S, Deantini declared, the College has never had more power than it does today.

Financial Aid: Deantini also spoke to us about the changes to the College’s financial aid—namely, that the responsibility for financial aid for College students is moving from A&S to the Provost’s office. Before the shift, the faculty of A&S had to decide how much financial aid to give out, keeping in mind that more money allocated from the (relatively small) A&S budget to financial aid meant less for academic concerns like keeping Core sections small or funding academic. Now that the Provost’s office is responsible for financial aid, the faculty will no longer be placed in such an awkward position.

Read on for Deantini’s thoughts on financial aid and international students

When in doubt, choose C.

The results of last year’s survey of undergrads, courtesy of the CSA Assessment Team, went public tonight—and the numbers are overwhelmingly good. You can check out a more comprehensive summary here, or just skim our highlights as you halfheartedly Apple+Tab between Reddit subpages:

• Of the 5,922 CC and SEAS students sent the survey link by email, 31% took the bait
• 73% said that the CSA is “meeting their advising needs” and 78% would recommend their advisers to others
• Only 51% said they’d turn to their adviser with “personal issues”
• A whopping 96% said they like the CSA’s new digs
• Choicest finding: “The name ‘Center for Student Advising’ connotes a hub of guidance and support”
• 85% reported that their adviser is knowledgeable about the curriculum
• Elusively, “some students expect quicker responses to emails”

Survey taking via Wikimedia Commons