Samantha Zimmer LA 101H Section 14 April 16, 2012

To the Penn State University Board of Trustees: Here at Penn State, a student can receive a very prestigious degree and a wonderful education. Penn State holds high academic standards, and the students work very hard to meet them. However, despite our quality education, we have an increasingly dire need for schedule reform. General education requirements prevent students from really being able to fully customize their education to their wants and needs. Although the idea of gen-eds serving to contribute to a type of well-rounded education is a good one, the gen-ed system has become something that has grown monstrously into a burdensome system. According to the Penn State University Bulletin, one third of a students course load in four years consists of general education requirements. How can students be expected to fully immerse themselves into a desired field of study if they are spending time taking required courses that do not allow them to do so? As a Penn State student, I can attest to the fact that current gen-ed requirements have become outdated and a hindrance to intense study of a subject. It is time to take a step to reform our degree requirements to best fit students interests and prevent them from wasting their time and money on courses that they do not need or want.

Zimmer 2 General education courses are intended to give students an education in more subjects than just their major, and that is a worthy goal. Gen-eds also allow students the opportunity to discover new areas of study that might interest them, also a worthwhile goal. For these two reasons, gen-ed requirements should not be done away with entirely. However, the amount of gen-ed credits required should be drastically reduced. It is time for the university administration to take a second look at these requirements with an eye toward trimming down the load of unnecessary gen-eds. I propose that one course should be required in each of the general education categories and that these credits should be completed in the first year to make the gen-ed process more efficient. For example, each student would need to take one class of writing, speaking, quantification, health and physical activity, natural sciences, arts and humanities, and social and behavioral sciences. One of each of these courses would be sufficient in providing students with at least some knowledge surrounding the subject. It would also give them a general idea of whether or not that area of study interests them. These less onerous gen-ed requirements could then be completed in the students first few semesters. This would allow for greater depth of study in majors for the remaining semesters as well as an opportunity for more scheduling freedom, giving students the unique ability to create a schedule of classes fit for them. That way, if through a gen-ed class, students discovered a subject of interest, they could use electives to further investigate it. But they would not be tied to any more than one class in the subjects less interesting to them.

Zimmer 3 This new reduction in gen-ed requirements could alleviate the difference in course strain that differs depending on colleges. Currently, not all majors are created equal in their balance of gen-eds with courses for the major. Even with the general education requirements, a recommended schedule for an English major in the College of Liberal Arts only has a student taking about five classes per semester. (Recommended Academic Plan for a Bachelor of Arts in English) However, a Biology major in the Eberly College of Science, takes about 6 to 7 classes per semester. (Recommended Academic Plan for Biology General Biology Option) Both of these options are flawed. The Biology option overwhelms students with too many requirements to fulfill as they become immersed in Biology and gen-eds. Yet, the English major does not allow students to dive into the major early enough because they are spending so much time fulfilling gen-eds. Clearly, some colleges are willing to cut down on core courses for a major to accommodate a large number of gen-eds. This could put students at a disadvantage by preventing them from really being able to study their major in depth, at least until their junior year or possibly later. Yet, other colleges are not willing to cut down on the major courses. In that case, the students are disadvantaged as well because they are left trying to juggle too many classes, some of which are not even pertinent to their majors. Neither of these options is conducive to effective learning. The students full attention cannot be given to the major if the student is bogged down with uninteresting gen-ed requirements. Thus, it would be exceptionally beneficial to reduce the general education classes. Under this new system, minimal gen-eds could be completed

Zimmer 4 within the first few semesters and then students could branch out into their desired major and the work load would be more evenly distributed amongst colleges. Another downside to the heavy load of gen-eds is the resulting difficulty in getting all required courses within a four-year time frame. It would appear that as gen-ed requirements have increased recently, fewer students have been able to graduate in four years. This pattern of lower rates of graduates in four-years is often a result of students not being able to schedule the courses they need when they need them. More often than not, there are not enough courses or sections of a course to satisfy the demand. This can lead to students spending more time and money to finish their degree because they cant get the necessary courses in a timely manner. This system is not desirable or fair to so many students who do not have the financial resources to stay more than four years at college. The three Pennsylvania state affiliated universities, Temple, Pittsburgh, and Penn State have very similar general education requirements that dominate the students schedules. These three schools also have a very low percentage of students who graduate in four years. Out of the three, Pittsburgh is the highest, yet still only graduates 61% of its students in four years. (U.S. News Education Colleges) Penn State is next with 56%. (Oshaugnessy) Then Temple comes in with a shocking 28% of students completing their degree on time. (Onveon Graduation Statistics Temple University) Yet, private schools, such as Juniata College, with considerably fewer required general education courses graduate 74% of their students in four years. This shows a clear pattern, which strongly exhibits that schools that have expansive gen-eds

Zimmer 5 have more trouble graduating students on time, whereas schools with fewer geneds do not. Under a system with drastically reduced general education, students would not have to worry about late graduation as a result of difficulty in scheduling gen-ed credits. Gen eds can also present a stumbling block if they cannot be fulfilled during a semester when a student is studying abroad. Currently, studying abroad is very strongly encouraged at Penn State. Yet, the classes a student takes abroad do not always qualify as part of the gen-ed requirements. According to Penn States website about study abroad, while you are abroad you can enroll in courses that may apply to your degree requirements. (FAQs Education Abroad) There is no guarantee that all the courses students take while abroad will apply to their major and general education requirements at Penn State. Therefore, a student can be further delayed on the path toward graduation. Ultimately, if Penn State loosened its policy and required fewer gen-eds that must be completed here, studying abroad would be easier. By cutting down on the amount of gen-eds that students must complete, the university can allow students to have more flexibility to study abroad without being penalized by graduating later due to the incompatibility of general education courses abroad. General education classes have further reaching effects than just late graduation or studying abroad difficulties. As was seen in a study done by Darrel B. Warner, there are many unintended consequences of requiring too many gen-eds. For example, at a big university, such as Penn State, there are many different classes

Zimmer 6 offered to fulfill the different areas of gen-ed studies. Yet, Warner argues that having too many options like this can confuse a students academic road map because it is harder to see how these different areas of study all connect together as part of the larger learning experience. (Warner and Koeppel 255) It is also noted in the study that having a plethora of options of classes to satisfy so many gen-eds can lead to a less cohesive way to assess the material. This can defeat the idea of general education which Warner claims would be that students are able to accomplish the same learning objectives no matter what course they are in. (Warner and Koeppel 256) Finally and most importantly, Warner also notes that most students have a general idea of what subject areas interest them by the time they enter college. (Warner and Koeppel 255) This makes extensive gen-eds unnecessary, as students will generally not change their opinions on a subject suddenly just because of a general education class. College is supposed to allow young people to discover areas of learning that interest them, and to study and grow as they find their academic niche. The students have much less chance to do this if they are weighed down with too many general education courses. Students cannot fully personalize their college experience and schedule under the current gen-ed criteria at Penn State. The only way to give the best education in higher learning, is to reduce gen-ed requirements to one class in each category. This will give students a greater ability to discover their true academic interests and blossom into the type of scholars they wish to be in their determined area of study. The time has come for the university to focus on

Zimmer 7 providing a personalized, flexible learning experience that is unencumbered by too many unnecessary general education requirements.

Works Cited FAQs Education Abroad. Penn State University, 2010. Web. 7 Apr. 2012. <http://gpglobalea.gp.psu.edu/index.cfm?FuseAction=Abroad.ViewLink&Parent_ ID=EF7701F1-939F-962A-3B62D18230899758&Link_ID=EF7FD60C-940712F5-F91C31BB2916FA45&pID=7&lID=25>. General Education Requirements. University of Pittsburgh, 2011. Web. 7 Apr. 2012. <http://www.asundergrad.pitt.edu/requirements/gened.html>. Onveon Graduation Statistics-Temple University. Onveon Education Center, 2011. Web. 7 Apr. 2012. <http://www.onveon.com/college/graduation-statistics/templeuniversity-19122.htm>. O'shaughnessy, Lynn. "Try to Guess These Four-Year College Graduation Rates." Mar. 2009. Web. 7 Apr. 2012. <http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505145_16237240124/try-to-guess-these-four-year-college-graduation-rates/>. Penn State University Bulletin. Penn State University, 2011. Web. 9 Apr. 2012. <http://bulletins.psu.edu/bulletins/bluebook/general_education.cfm?section=gener alEd5> Recommended Academic Plan for Bachelor of Arts in English. Penn State University, 2007. Web. 7 Apr. 2012. <http://laus.la.psu.edu/currentstudents/advising/recommended-academic-plans/pdf/ENGL10.pdf>. Recommended Academic Plan for Biology General Biology Option. Penn State University, 2007. Web. 6 Apr. 2012. <http://bio.psu.edu/undergraduateportal/our-curriculum/biology-option-check-sheets-and-4-yearplans/genbioplan.pdf>. Temple University Undergraduate Bulletin. Temple University, 2012. Web. 7 Apr. 2012.

<http://www.temple.edu/bulletin/Academic_programs/general_education/index.sh tm>. U.S. News Education Colleges. U.S. News, 2011. Web. 7 Apr. 2012. <http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/university-ofpittsburgh-3379>. Warner, Darrell B., and Katie Koeppel. "General Education Requirements." The Journal of General Education 584 Nov. (2009): 241-51. Project Muse. Web. 9 Apr. 2012. <http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_general_education/v058/58.4.warner.ht ml>.