Coming UP short
The Academic Senate should not pass proposals to limit the number of University Program courses available to students.
Currently, there are more than 200 UP courses available for students. However, at the last A-Senate meeting two senators proposed to limit the number of courses available for students to take to about half.
One senator proposed the number of UP courses to be around 100, meaning each subgroup would have between eight and 16 courses.
Another senator proposed UPs should include only courses to fulfill the purpose of the program. This means no course would be above 300-level, and courses with low enrollment would be eliminated. This would basically eliminate what some professors and students categorize as "bad" classes.
All courses available at Central Michigan University should meet requirements in order to be available. Maybe the issue should be making sure all the courses meet requirements instead of just eliminating them.
Eliminating the amount of courses available for students will do no good in trying to improve a student's overall experience at CMU.
The point of UP courses is to make CMU students well rounded and versed in sciences, humanities and culture.
"The University Program has been designed to encourage you to explore as many different disciplines as possible; therefore, you must choose your University Program courses from different designators," according to the 2007-2008 Bulletin.
Obviously, the intent of administrators is to make sure UPs offer a diverse education to students.
In addition, limiting the number of courses available would limit the ability for students to double count courses. This usually will allow students to get through university requirements faster, helping them achieve graduation in four years.
Administrators have recently been emphasizing increasing four-year graduation rates, and this seems counterproductive to that mission.
Students should have the option to choose from a variety of classes.
These courses can be used as a jumping off point for some students to explore additional majors or minors. Some classes are taken as a requirement, but the student ends up enjoying them and exploring the subject further.
Offering a variety of UP courses should be a priority to serve as many student's interests as possible.
Rather than eliminate courses, improve upon them and strengthen them to make CMU a better university.
