After weeks of deliberation, Academic Senate approved changes to the Bachelor of Science degree, lowering the number of required credit hours for graduation from 124 to 120.

Other changes to the degree include the deletion of area requirements and the requirement of zero to 13 credit hours in the Natural and Social Sciences, at least nine credit hours of which must be at the 300-level or above. Six of those credits must be from the same designator and may not double-count with General Education courses.

The change also includes the requirement of math and statistics courses, which can double-count with General Education.

At its March 27 meeting in Pearce Hall, Academic Senate discussed a "main motion" and a "substitute motion" toward changing the Bachelor of Arts degree with the purpose of lowering the total number of required credit hours from 124 to 120. The vote was postponed to the April 24 Academic Senate meeting so departments can further consider the proposed motions.

Both motions include the deletion of the 18 hours of Area Requirements.

Academic senators expressed worry at the meeting that many students opt out of a B.A. simply because of the foreign language requirement, even if their major fits better in a B.A.

"We need to balance out the reality of what students are experiencing," said Senator Sarah Grandstaff, CMU Academic Advisor and creator of the substitution motion, which calls for lower foreign language requirements. "We want students to graduate in four years. We don’t want to put out impediments to their ability to progress. This motion offers them a lot of flexibility to explore numerous different areas."

The main cause for debate between the two motions surrounded whether or not students should be required under the B.A. degree to take foreign language courses until "second semester proficiency" or "fourth semester proficiency."

Student Government Association representative Morgan Clark said at the previous SGA meeting, students expressed disapproval of the requirement of fourth semester proficiency in a foreign language.

"Fourth semester proficiency would not accomplish the goal of encouraging more students to take a B.A. because students who spoke up said that they would just opt to take the B.S. instead," Clark said.

Senator Benjamin Heumann, assistant professor in the Department of Geography & Environmental Studies, created the main motion after studying Central Michigan University's peer universities. Heumann said CMU would differ from other universities by lowering the foreign language requirement under four semesters.

"Any notion of rigor means nothing when it can all be taken at the 100-level," said Senator Catherine Hicks Kennard, director of Applied Linguistics in the Department of English language and literature. "The foreign language requirement here would be less than what high school requires. This dilutes everything."

Senator Rich Forest of the Department of English Language and Literature agreed that proficiency in a foreign language is a key component to a B.A.

"Studying foreign language is part of intellectual education," Forest said. "We require it at the high school level. Having a foreign language requirement is part of a liberal arts education."