Degree requirements may change
Margaret Baum
Issue date: 12/14/09 Section: News
The Committee on Instruction is considering changes to degree requirements because of the increased difficulty students will have in obtaining classes. It will be more difficult for students to get all the classes they need to graduate and the committee is trying to streamline that process, said Laura Demsetz, professor of engineering and chair for the Committee on Instruction.
"The commitee thought it would be a good idea to look at the requirements and see which ones are mandated by the state or accreditation and find where there is flexibility to restructure locally," said Demsetz. A college degree needs to include an in-depth study of the major and the breadth of general education and the committee is not trying to change that, she said. "We started seriously thinking about making changes in October."
A total of 60 units will still be needed for a degree but we are considering freeing up how these units will be used, said Demsetz. The committee, which is overseen by the CSM Academic Senate, is not looking at requirements for individual majors, just for general education.
In order for a change to be considered it needs to be on the committee's meeting agenda as an informational item first, said Demsetz.
"After information is gathered and discussed it would be placed on the next month's agenda as an action item, meaning that a vote would be conducted to determine the result."
For a change to make the 2010-11 catalog we would need to take action on it by March at the latest, said Demsetz. " We have between now and March to go through the process of revisiting the degree, she said. "We owe it to the students to make sure that there are not unnecessary obstacles to earning a degree."
When looking at what requirements could be restructured the committee found three possibilities: the health science requirement, the physical education requirement, and the way in which the history and institutions requirement is satisfied, said Demsetz. "The way in which the history requirement is satisfied can't go away but can be reconfigured."
"The commitee thought it would be a good idea to look at the requirements and see which ones are mandated by the state or accreditation and find where there is flexibility to restructure locally," said Demsetz. A college degree needs to include an in-depth study of the major and the breadth of general education and the committee is not trying to change that, she said. "We started seriously thinking about making changes in October."
A total of 60 units will still be needed for a degree but we are considering freeing up how these units will be used, said Demsetz. The committee, which is overseen by the CSM Academic Senate, is not looking at requirements for individual majors, just for general education.
In order for a change to be considered it needs to be on the committee's meeting agenda as an informational item first, said Demsetz.
"After information is gathered and discussed it would be placed on the next month's agenda as an action item, meaning that a vote would be conducted to determine the result."
For a change to make the 2010-11 catalog we would need to take action on it by March at the latest, said Demsetz. " We have between now and March to go through the process of revisiting the degree, she said. "We owe it to the students to make sure that there are not unnecessary obstacles to earning a degree."
When looking at what requirements could be restructured the committee found three possibilities: the health science requirement, the physical education requirement, and the way in which the history and institutions requirement is satisfied, said Demsetz. "The way in which the history requirement is satisfied can't go away but can be reconfigured."
Be the first to comment on this story