Central Michigan University’s general education program is not the only one in reform.

According to a survey by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, about half of campuses surveyed are in some stage of general education reform.

Undergraduate students at Eastern Michigan University began following the requirements of a new general education program in fall 2007.

“We were charged to make a general education program that was more student friendly,” said Chris Foreman, general education program director at EMU.

EMU’s new program involves required courses in effective communication, quantitative reasoning, diversity and a variety of specific disciplines. It also includes a section titled “Learning Beyond the Classroom,” in which students can use campus activities such as event attendance, campus leadership or career development to meet requirements.

“Now students have the opportunity to use these experiences without having to tack on extra credit hours,” Foreman said. “We’ve seen an amazing increase in all different areas of activity and attendance in performances.”

Andrew Hickman said he likes the idea of counting campus involvement toward requirements.

“I’d probably be getting a nice little boost – I’m already pretty involved,” the Flat Rock junior said. “It’s a shame more students don’t get involved.”

Western Michigan University’s general education program has components similar to CMU’s current program. Students at WMU must complete four proficiencies, involving math, writing and communication skills and select courses from eight distribution areas.

General education programs vary greatly by school. Ross Miller, senior director of assessment for learning at the AACU, said some schools have programs with only 30 credits, while some military institutions have as many as 90 credit hours of general education.

“Good general education creates opportunities for students on campus to talk about the common things they’re learning,” he said.

Hickman said he does not think Group IV of the University Program, Integrative and Area Studies, should be required.

“A lot of people don’t care about it,” he said. “Foreign language is important in the business world, but not necessary in general education requirements.”

One main area of debate in CMU’s reform process is how many courses to include in the UP; more than 200 are currently included.

“Actually, 200 is small compared to some campuses. Some schools have as many as 600 courses on the books, although they may not all be taught regularly,” Miller said.

The number of courses in each distribution area in WMU’s program is comparable to the number of courses in each subgroup of the UP. Undergraduates at Michigan State University take core courses in English and math and choose classes from three areas of integrative studies. At Wayne State University, students follow different general education requirements based on their major.

“The AACU likes the idea of having a few core courses in a general education program; that’s where you can have the assurance of the learning outcomes,” Miller said. “It’s not a real common model, however.”

Hickman said he was able to double-count UP classes toward his major when he was a finance major, but not much after he switched to broadcast and cinematic arts.

“The only thing I’d like to see different is more majors represented in the UP,” Hickman said.

Miller said reforming a general education program can be complicated.

“You have to investigate the school’s mission and purpose,” he said. “One of the hardest things is to connect general education to a major.”

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E-mail the author: Beth Kieda