A major part of undergraduate course selection each semester involves making provisions for general education courses - courses that often incite groans of disgust from returning students and may not pertain to a student's major but fall under university requirements for graduation.
Such courses include math, writing, history, basic social sciences and computing.
Peter S. Gold, associate dean for general education, said that general education courses should be seen as sources of knowledge that will help in acquiring a complete college education, rather than simple classes that are required for graduation.
"The question shouldn't be, 'Is this needed for my job?' the question is 'What does a college education consist of?'" said Gold. "There have been repeated reports that say (general education courses) are useful and people need them to be successful as citizens and people looking for jobs, and that's what a college education is."
Some students think that gen-ed courses are little more than redundancies.
"I can see how gen-eds give students an opportunity to learn all the different aspects of various subjects like math and language," said Justin McDowell, a junior marketing and communications major. "But I think that's what high school was for - to help students learn the broad areas of these topics and help prepare them for a specific major. Taking gen-eds similar to classes in high school seems like a waste of time."
Jonathan Thompson, a junior exercise science major, agreed.
"I think (gen-eds) are a waste of my money. I shouldn't have to pay to learn something I'll forget the day after the final," said Thompson. "Ask me anything about World Civilizations. I can't tell you because I forgot."
Though some students balk at the idea of sitting through a semester of classes that may not seem to make them more proficient in their area of study, some faculty members consider gen-ed classes beneficial.
While Gold says that general education offers a well-rounded education, Tommie Babbs, senior academic advisor of the Student Advising Services, finds that general education courses serve another purpose.
"For undecided students, (taking gen-ed courses) is great," he said. "It forces them to venture out and exposes them to things they never thought of doing."
Sophia Francis, a sophomore exercise science major, agreed.
"Gen-ed classes give you somewhat of a foundation," said Francis. "Taking gen-ed courses gives you the opportunity to find something you are interested in and you might major in that subject later on."
Babbs described the experience of a student who found a major through taking a gen-ed course.
"There was a geology course that he took and found that he liked learning about rock formation and decided to pursue geology as a major," said Babbs.
Thompson agreed about the benefits gen-eds offer to some students but said they should be limited to undecided majors.
" If you don't know what you want to do, then by all means take some gen-ed classes. But if you already know, it's just a waste of time. I already know what I want to major in and some gen-eds have nothing to do with that major."
Jermaine Clarke, a junior electrical engineering major said even though a gen-ed course may not impact his proficiency in his major they have a positive effect on his grade point average.
"Electrical engineering is really hard, so if I mess up in one of my classes I can count on an A or B in my gen-ed classes to bring up my GPA," said Clarke.
Whether students consider gen-ed courses easy courses that can balance out a heavy course load, or gateways into a fitting major, Gold says that gen-eds have a largely positive approval rate.
"The course evaluations show that, by and large, people find them helpful and learn a lot," said Gold.
Freshman business management major Lewis Solis said he does not make a distinction between his classes and plans to put equal effort into each one.
"I came here with the idea that I'm going to work hard in everything," said Solis.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
