Survey Finds Many Colleges Have Lowered the Academic Bar
November 18, 2009 | Todd G.
Voice of America News ran an article about the demands that today’s colleges are putting on their students. The American Council of Trustees and Alumni established seven key subjects they believed to be crucial to a well-rounded education and then surveyed schools across the country to determine if the subjects were covered. They found that many of the colleges didn’t come close to meeting the test with only five getting six out of the seven. One interesting result the survey found was the discrepancy between the cost of the school and the demands made on the student. Turns out the more expensive schools hardly required any study in the key subjects, but the five schools that required 6 of the seven had a much lower average tuition cost.
With so much specialization going on in education, it’s no surprise that many of the key subjects are tossed aside in exchange for courses that will help a student with a future career path. I suppose it is a shame that some of the key subjects are not given their due, but those classes are not exactly the most popular I’m sure. Perhaps they just need more fancy titles like “Dragons and US History!” or “Composition and Action Movies!”
