Everyone who goes to college is there for an education and to earn a degree that will, ideally, help them land a job once they have graduated, but the amount of time spent in college and the excessive, overwhelming amounts of money spent on an education can make anyone’s head spin. What if there was a way to lessen the time one spends in college so he or she can earn his or her degree faster and go out in the real world sooner than enduring the typical four to six years of higher education?
While I have enjoyed many of my general education classes and have learned many concepts and ideas, I wonder how necessary it is for universities to require college students to take these classes. Although general education is beneficial for one’s own knowledge and curiosity about different subjects, students ultimately are putting forth the time, money and effort to earn a degree from their major. So I wonder would it be possible to eliminate general education completely from the college system and only require students to focus on their major classes?
I know that not everyone who enters college knows what they want to study; in fact, it might take one four years for some students to figure out what they to major in. So what if the number of general education courses were lessened? This would allow students with an undeclared major to take a handful of courses to see what they are interested in, and it would also enable students who have declared a major to take classes purely for their own knowledge and entertainment. By lessening the number of general education courses required for a student to take, students could get in and out of college faster while still gaining the skills they need in order to be prepared for the real world and for future jobs. Not to mention, students would be relieved of the headache and hassle of having to take all those excessive general education classes that do not pertain to their education or their future jobs whatsoever.
Now, imagine college with no general education. I support keeping the four foundation classes—oral communication, written communication, critical thinking, and quantitative reasoning—but other than those basic courses, is it realistic to only take major classes? For those majors that require a significant amount of units, or if someone is double majoring, then not having those GenEd classes will lessen the time and money spent on one’s education. Could this system actually be implemented in colleges and universities? I don’t see why not. It would encourage students to pick a major promptly instead of floating from one random class to the next every semester until they figure out what they want to do with their lives.
Maybe lessening or eliminating general education courses altogether is too far-fetched. How about a compromise? Freshman year every student is required to take foundational and general education classes, such as math, English, science, and critical thinking. After freshman year, students choose a major and from then on out only take major classes. Of course students are allowed to change majors, but from sophomore year until graduation, students focus solely on their major. As a college student, if I could spend less time in general education classes and more time in major and minor classes, it would be way more convenient for my time and to my bank account.
