SGA works to change class requirements for future students
In about two years students may see a change in the new student academic bulletins.
Last year, the Student Government Association attempted to reopen subgroup 4A in an effort to ensure students were required to take at least one course about race. The subgroup, however, was removed from students' bulletins in the fall of 2014 and cannot be retroactively reopened.
“We are here at a university to expand our knowledge and our experiences,” said SGA President Chuck Mahone. “If you can go your whole four years at college without having to truly learn about someone other than yourself, that’s an issue.”
The proposal was brought up in Academic Senate meeting last fall when members of senate were attempting to put other minority related classes into the 4C race category. This was defeated fall 2014, and the proposal of opening up a 4D subgroup in place of bogging down the 4C subgroup with all types of minority-related classes was brought to light.
SGA senate was predominantly in favor of adopting the new subgroup. The House, Mahone said, was fairly split down the middle as they believed creating the new subgroup would take away a student’s elective choice.
Mahone described the new subgroup as a way to “get back” to some of the older requirements which new student bulletins lack.
“There’s a little bit of misunderstanding about this because when people hear that we’re adding another subgroup, they think we’re adding University Programs or they’re going to have to take more credit hours,” Mahone said. “That is not the case. You are still going to take the same amount of UP's but how those UP's look (in the student bulletin) will be slightly different.”
In order for a student to complete all of their UP's, they must select nine courses out of eight subgroups and complete 27 credit hours. It is required for one class to be taken from each subgroup. The ninth class has become thought of as an elective, allowing students to choose which subgroup they would like to take another class from.
By creating the new subgroup of 4D, which will take the place of the old 4A subgroup, students would now be required to take a class from each of the subgroups instead of doubling up on another subgroup class. This change will not affect writing competency classes and the new writing intensive requirement.
Director of General Education, Tracy Brown, said this will not affect student’s major or minor requirements.
“If we add 4D on, it will essentially be like re-adding 4A,” Brown said. “There are eight subgroups but nine courses because there used to be a 4A and that was the ninth course. But 4A was removed from the new Gen Ed, which started in 2014.”
Brown has been working with Mahone in order to see the subgroup creation into reality since last fall.
manistee sophomore Logun Miller said the potential creation of the new 4D category will be good for future students as it allows for them to “break out of their comfort zone.”
“So many people are not educated in culture (other than their own) enough,” he said. “We get some background through (elementary) education, but who really remembers that? That was just to basically teach us to not judge other people based on the color of their skin. (These) classes will be cool to be able to really take a deeper look (on the issue of race).”
It is unknown if the subcategory will go into effect, however it will not affect current student bulletins.
“The 4D proposal is just a proposal right now,” Brown said. “It may take several years for it to get through the entire process (of becoming approved). We’re talking maybe two years out, at the least.”
