Students could be sighing a breath of relief this week, as the general education (G.E.) requirements to graduate may be lessening if the Academic Senate votes in favor of the proposed change.
If it passes, students would be allowed to take three fewer classes in the physical sciences, humanities and arts categories. This has the potential to help many of the students who are forced to struggle through classes that are far from their major and, probably, far from their skills.
However, the amount of G.E.s wouldn’t really change. Rather than reduce the amount of G.E. courses taken, the units would simply shift to an electives category. The amount would lessen by only three units, from 51 required G.E. classes to 48 – the average worth of one course.
But this change in course requirements opens up a new debate: Is Cal State Long Beach slipping into the realms of technical colleges or is it maintaining its “university” status?
We are undeniably a commuter school, unlike many other local universities and much to the chagrin of CSULB President F. King Alexander. This commuter culture is similar to the likes of ITT Technical Institute and other nearby technical colleges where students just show up to attend classes and don’t really engage with their campus (if there is one.)
But is our education now starting to resemble that of one of these specialty schools where students can just study one subject intensively? Isn’t it a part of a well-rounded, university education to learn about subjects outside their comfort level?
In short, no.
One of the fundamental principles of going to a university is not only being able to specialize in a topic or field of interest, but to explore things that interest you that aren’t necessarily in your field of study.
Say a student takes an enjoyable music or biology class, but is limited in his or her schedule to the rigid confines of the G.E. courses. With the proposed system, students would have more of a say in their own education while still being required to attend enough classes to be a well-rounded, well-educated university graduate.
Whether or not students like them, there is something students could gain from G.E. classes. But their usefulness is definitely limited, and it is what distinguishes a university education from that of a trade school.
Both certainly have advantages. Usually students can get an intensive, quality education from a trade school in two years, compared to the often-exhausting four-plus years most university students take. A university education broadens a students’ scope of knowledge about the world, while trade schools allow students to study their subject of interest alone without having to study extra classes.
But the one distinction that probably drives most people to come to a university instead of a trade school is a university degree, which is generally considered infinitely more appealing to employers than a specialty certificate.
But if Cal State Long Beach wants its students not to get discouraged struggling with and getting tired of the myriad of G.E.s that they are currently expected to complete, a change in the requirements needs to occur.
Allowing students to focus their G.E.s other fields is a step toward giving students academic freedom and a more active role in deciding their educational path.
