Justin Muszynski
A recent bill proposed designed to make transferring amongst Connecticut state schools easier, and a general education system drafted by the Board of Regents leaves many questions about the future of Gen Ed at CCSU.
The bill (H.B. No. 5030) calls for the regional community-technical college system, the CSU system along with UCONN to develop a common general education core of courses by which 30 credits must be provided by community colleges and accepted by state universities.
This comes at a time when CCSU is developing its own general education system to replace the current one. Robert Wolff, chair of the General Education Ad-Hoc Committee, says it’s impossible to know if this bill will influence CCSU’s plans.
“It’s not clear that it’s going to have any effect,” said Wolff. “You never know with a legislative proposal what’s going to happen with it over time. It may become something that we have to talk about.”
However, if it is passed he says the most recent draft that committee has drawn up will more than likely fit the bill’s requirements.
The draft put together by the BOR would mandate universities to accept 60-64 credits if a student achieves an Associate’s degree, 36 of which would go towards Gen Ed, and guarantee a student “junior status.”
However, SGA President Eric Bergenn says this may be somewhat misleading.
“If a student transfers in and is considered a junior they expect to graduate in two years,” said Bergenn. “Just because you carry over 60 credits from community college that doesn’t mean it won’t take you more than that.”
Both proposals are designed to improve graduation rates. However, many are concerned that they are being rushed. It has already been added to H.B. 5030’s original language stipulating that their goal must be accomplished by July 1, 2013 as opposed to July of this year. It also now includes the need for faculty input, which was another previous worry by many.
Wolff says the Ad-Hoc Committee’s primary objective is not to improve graduation rates.
“We want to improve their education,” said Wolff. “Graduation rates should be a goal, but not the primary one. Our primary goal is to provide students with the education they need.”
Bergenn also says the legislature’s proposal is designed specifically for the BOR’s sake.
“I know this bill is set up to give them [BOR] the freedom to create a transfer and articulation policy, which I think is a little bit dangerous to the individuality of the different Gen Ed programs of the different schools,” said Bergenn.
Bergenn invited Sen. Beth Bye, chairwoman of the legislature’s Higher Education Committee, to come to campus to gain student input on the matter. He also thinks it will help educate students on the subject who may not know all that much about it.
Wolff, who is also a professor of history, says the legislature’s proposal is more realistic than one might think. He says in his department it’s very common for a transfer student to carry over 30 credits to CCSU.
“In some respects the proposal is not as significant as supposed because a lot of students coming from the community colleges transfer 30 credits,” said Wolff. “That’s probably something you can work with.”
Wolff says from listening to the committee at the public hearing for this bill on February 14, they don’t seem to care as much that a specific system is set up offering exactly the same classes at each school but rather that students don’t lose any credits in the transfer process.
“The legislatures seem very receptive to input from the campuses,” said Wolff.
He also questions the root of the problem when students “lose” credits.
“I still don’t know how much of it is lost because of poor articulation between us and the community colleges or how much because students change majors,” said Wolff. “That’s something that I think doesn’t always get looked at.”