By Justin Muszynski
With two separate General Education proposals currently on the table at CCSU, students are torn between different aspects of both of them and no one can completely agree on any particular characteristic of either.
Most believe that neither system is perfect as is and that in the end there should be a compromise between the two.
Both proposals would condense the current system of eight academic areas down to four. However, SGA President Eric Bergenn’s proposal would leave more up to the student where the General Education Ad-Hoc Committee’s proposal would still mandate certain classes.
Alicia Marquis, a sophomore, prefers Bergenn’s proposal because of the freedom it grants students.
“I think I would like the president’s one better so students can get more of what they are looking for out of school,” said Marquis. “The classes you take should depend on what you want to do with your life. Everyone’s different.”
Bergenn’s proposal would only require that a student take one college level math or composition course unless that particular department allows them to “test out” of that class.
Hythem Bishtawi, a junior, also favors Bergenn’s proposal over the most current draft by the Ad-Hoc Committee. He believes students shouldn’t be required to take something that doesn’t directly relate to their career path.
“That would be easier if you had the ability to make your own choices and focus on your major,” said Bishtawi. “If you were allowed to take all classes that you’re interested in you’d probably be more inclined to take more classes and that would cause students to graduate faster.”
The committee’s proposal would still require everyone to take freshman composition, which is a necessary learning experience for some students. Declan Gallagher, a junior, expresses how much freshman composition did for him in the long run.
“It helped me a lot,” said Gallagher. “I still use the same writing techniques to this day that I learned in freshman comp.”
A third option is also preferred by some students. Colleen Brown, a senior, likes the current system in place saying she had no problems completing it in the designated time period.
“I like the fact that students are required to take a number of courses that they should have to pass if they want a college degree,” said Brown. “Sometimes when you’re given too much freedom you make bad docisions.”
Despite many students’ opinion that the current Gen Ed system requires too many credits, most didn’t seem too ecstatic that Bergenn’s proposal would only mandate the state minimum of 40.
“I don’t think that would make much of a difference,” said Brian Field, a junior. “If you’re trying to get out of here sooner I don’t think that is going to affect that. That’s like a single lab class.”
However, he does think that if more students were allowed to test out of required classes, that could save a significant amount of time and would allow someone to graduate in a more timely manner.
“The one thing I really like about his [Bergenn’s] system is that students who already know a lot about a particular subject don’t have to suffer through an entire course that teaches them nothing because it allows people to test out,” said Field.
While Bergenn’s proposal suggests that a student be allowed to test out instead of taking a required course, it would be up to the individual department as to whether or not they would approve of it.
One element that students seemed to favor in the Ad-Hoc Committee’s draft is the ability to double count more classes than the SGA President’s report. Allison Bernhard, a senior, feels that if the ultimate goal is to improve graduation rates, then this is a crucial aspect that will encourage that. Bergenn’s proposal only allows a person to double-count up to six credits where the committee’s permits up to 12 in either your major, minor or a combination of the two.
“A lot of courses you need for your major make you take a prerequisite,” said Bernhard. “If you can take that class and have it not only counts toward your major and Gen Ed requirement, but also set the ground work for your major path, that would be very efficient.”
It’s also important to remember that both proposals are drafts and neither is guaranteed to be accepted as the new General Education system at CCSU, should there be one.