I believe that what Richard did as an undergraduate is not too different
from what I suggested in my post titled "Some questions and an idea from
left field." This might even help retention in that it would allow those
students who don't have their lives planned out to take more courses
which they find interesting. Heck, more students might actually begin to
enjoy and begin to see value in learning for its own sake rather than
just as a means a higher income.

I wrote:

> The university could have requirements for and issue a standard degree
> and the colleges/departments could issue the concentration
> certificates, both of which would be acknowledged in the students'
> transcripts. This could allow both the university and the concerned
> programs to maintain their integrity. It might also provide better
> communication of requirements and more flexibility to the students. A
> more modular approach so to speak.


As a side note, I think that the promotional slogan "get a degree, make
more money", while true, has undermined much of the other value of
education: more/better critical thinkers, better informed electorate,
more open minded society, etc. Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, this
is the only method that has been used to promote higher education to the
general public in recent history. I of course grant that this is the
most effective way to get students through the doors--showing people the
"wallet-effect" works very well indeed--but teaching people to learn
even when they are not in a classroom requires a different tack. Letting
those students who want to learn about a wider variety of  topics do so
might be a step in that direction.

I'm not a professional educator, so please correct me where I'm wrong.

Respectfully,
Stephen Leather

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Richard Gambrell wrote:

> Why is this idea a "dark moment"? Why stop with department choices?  Why
> not allow each individual student, with advisor approval, to choose the
> most appropriate courses from the entire list of classes taught? I hold
> a B.A. degree from a college at the University of the Pacific that, at
> that time, had no requirements except completing sufficient units and
> choosing courses with the approval of an advisor. I like to think I
> turned out reasonably well educated. I made a pretty good score on the
> GRE (good enough to get into graduate school and secure a fellowship at
> UC Davis).
>
> To award a major the courses selected would of course have to conform
> sufficiently with the appropriate standards (accreditation and
> otherwise) in the appropriate discipline(s) (following rules set by the
> department). In my case, I did not pursue a traditional major (my degree
> reads "in Liberal Arts").