Brigham Young University has announced revisions to its general education program that strengthen and streamline it, according to Associate Academic Vice President John S. Tanner.
The new program includes a revised health/physical education requirement and elective requirement, which reduce total student loads by 3.5 credit hours.Beginning in September this year, all current and entering students will be able to choose whether to complete the old or the new program. In the fall of 1996, all entering students will be subject to the new program.
"The change I am most delighted with," said General Education and Honors Dean Paul A. Cox, "is the universality of the new program. In the past, there were 13 different general education programs that varied according to the student's major. The new GE program is the same for all BYU students, regardless of major."
Changes in GE requirements come after 18 months of study by the Faculty General Education Council, an advisory body with representatives from each of the colleges. The council also took into account advice and research from the General Education Student Advisory Council.
General education at BYU focuses on three areas: 1) academic skills such as mathematics, writing, and foreign languages that help students throughout their college careers and beyond; 2) core classes, including American Heritage, Biology, Physical Science, and History of Civilization, which cover broad areas of human knowledge; and 3) elective courses that help students explore various disciplines.
The number of required elective courses will be reduced to three from four. These consist of a course from the natural sciences, one from the social/behavioral sciences, and one from arts and letters. The health/P.E. requirement will be reduced by one half-credit course.
In addition to the reduction of credit hours and the universality of the new program, major features include the following:
Students can take the required two-semester History of Civilization course in any sequence and from different instructors. This gives them more freedom in scheduling classes and avoids delays caused by having to wait for certain instructors and certain times.
The new program offers more intensive sequences of courses as alternatives to the core classes. History majors, for example, could take History 120 and Political Science 110 (or Economics 110) instead of American Heritage, or science majors could take specified rigorous physics, chemistry or geology courses rather than Physical Science 100.
The foreign language/advanced math requirement will add a music equivalent. This is not "an easy way out," said Tanner. The music alternative will easily require as much effort as mastering a foreign language.
"Too often in the past," said Cox, "students saw general education as an obstacle rather than an opportunity. We are confident that this new program will help them learn not only how to earn a living, but also how to live a richer and more abundant life."
BYU also plans to enhance the quality of GE offerings and improve rewards for superb general education teachers, said Tanner.
"We want our GE classes to be so good that the courses will be the highlight of students' BYU experience," Cox said.