LSA should loosen course requirements

By Scott Hunter
Daily Editorial Page Writer

MARGARET MYERS/Daily Anthropology Prof. Andres Frisancho teaches a lecture course on biological anthropology. 'Bio anthro' is a popular choice for fulfilling natural science credits.

Earning a Michigan diploma may prove more difficult than it seems.

Maintaining a 2.0 grade point average through 120 credits of academic terrain is the easy part. In an effort to ensure that the University manufactures competent, well-rounded graduates, LSA has placed hurdles on the terrain: degree requirements.

Consequently, obtaining that get-out-of-jail-free card at commencement demands careful planning, strategy and, most of all, tolerance. Five primary requirements affect the majority of undergraduate students: English composition, race and ethnicity, quantitative reasoning, second-language proficiency, and area distribution. Generally, the requisites contribute positively to a practical and well-balanced educational program; however, they often limits students' curriculum choices unnecessarily.

Through the English composition requirement, the University seeks to ensure that all graduates can effectively express themselves in writing. This requirement has two components: introductory composition, taken during freshman or sophomore years, and the junior/senior writing requirement. While students may forego the introductory component if their entrance portfolio displays a high level of competence, LSA offers no opportunity to forego the junior/senior component. Consequently, highly skilled and proficient students must expend time, effort and, above all, money to develop a skill they have already polished. To better accommodate these students, LSA should develop a plan to gauge the writing skills of its upperclassmen and, if appropriate, allow them to forego the junior/senior requirement.

Also reenforcing the liberal-arts component of education is the second-language requirement. LSA demands fourth-term proficiency in a language other than English for all its bachelor's degree recipients. Mastery of a second language proves crucial in that 1.) it improves one's understanding of the structure of English and 2.) the workplace has evolved such that most graduates will work in environments with international connections - not to mention that most employers routinely torch the resumes of applicants who lack second-language proficiency. This requirement is, therefore, indispensable. Important also is the fact that most language classes are imbued with social and cultural lessons about their corresponding countries.

Established in 1991, the race and ethnicity requirement exemplifies the University's commitment to promoting an awareness of social relations. The courses that fall under this category are meant to explore race, ethnicity, racism and how these factors manifest themselves. This requirement should be adopted by all educational institutions for it directly addresses the practical, real-world aspect of education.

Also practical is the quantitative-reasoning requirement, which seeks to ensure that all graduates are adept at the using the analyzing quantitative information for practical purposes - not for pure computation. Quantitative reasoning plays an important role in many careers, yet it is a skill that many students have developed. In this instance, too, LSA should offer students the option of meeting the requirement through a University-approved assessment test.

In an attempt to produce well-rounded graduates, LSA also institutes an area-distribution requirement that demands that students take classes from a variety of disciplines. While the underlying idea holds merit, the distribution plan often forces students to take classes unnecessarily.

So, while requirements prove necessary in that they help yield a well-balanced education, LSA should revise them to avoid placing students into courses that yield little benefit.

09-03-97