Item 5-S on the South Dakota Board of Regents’ agenda this afternoon makes me think someone at Black Hills State University has been sitting too close to Dennis Daugaard at dinner. In apparent celebration of our Governor’s anti-philosophy approach to education, BHSU is asking the Regents’ permission to eliminate Institutional Graduation Requirements (IGRs).
On face, the proposal sounds like a way to allow students to diversify their intellectual pursuits:
In fact, in some important respects, IGRs have served to constrain the campuses’ ability to compete for students transferring from Community Colleges or other four year institutions. In some cases IGRs have also reduced the flexibility of the faculty to structure academic programs of study to align with national trends and best practices. To address these concerns, BHSU is seeking to eliminate IGRs on their campus to further encourage students to expand their academic options by pursuing an additional degree or minor. [South Dakota Board of Regents, Agenda Item 5-S, 2015.12.02].
BHSU proposes eliminating 11 credits worth of IGRs, plus an “Experiential Learning” requirement that is listed as ranging from 0 to 12 credit hours. The current IGRs include two credits of P.E. (excuse me, nowadays, we call it Wellness), three credits of Behavioral and Social Sciences (that would be that psychology stuff that Daugaard and Jeb Bush so disdain), and six credits of Fine Arts and Humanities.
Look at those three fields again, and realize that by eliminating these IGRs, we are saying that the universe of knowledge to which Black Hills State University ought to expose its students need not include basic instruction in what it means to be fully human bodily, mentally, and culturally.
Ah, but who needs a university education anyway? As Pat Powers says in his persistent yet low-result fundraising pitches to help the Augustana College Republicans (aren’t we supposed to call them University Republicans now?) skip their expensive classes and go to CPAC, young people will learn a lot more attending a conservative echo-chamber conference “than they could ever receive in a classroom with some liberal professor.” (Actually, a trip to CPAC wouldn’t fit in any of the experiential learning options BHSU currently accepts toward its IGR.)
Black Hills State will keep graduation requirements for one (one?!?) writing-intensive class within their major and one class within their major or general education requirements raising their awareness of globalization/global issues.
Bob Mercer notes this morning that the Regents report a decline in the enrollment of South Dakota students in the state university system. In the past when faculty went on recruiting trips within the state, we found that many students did not think degrees from state institutions were academically competitive with those in other states or private institutions, particularly with the bachelor of arts degree. They found that the emphasis on vocational curricula would leave them with educational shortcomings. A bachelor of arts degree meant that its holders had an education that provided some knowledge and exposure to the various disciplines. and for the BA a level of competence in a language besides English. BHSU might achieve the same result it requests by eliminating the BA from its degree offerings and by defining what degree it does offer in vocational, not academic terms. But do students really want degrees that indicate that they have less education than their contemporaries from universities that maintain some intellectual rigor? Or will they, like the trend seems to indicate, go where the degrees mean something?
A decade or so ago I was in a meeting with representatives of every state school. A proposal was on the table to require every institution to meet a minimum standard of some kind. For all my sins, I can’t recall the details, but it was not, in any wise, an onerous requirement. A representative from BHSU averred that the students currently enrolled were too ‘stupid’ to meet the requirement. The other representatives were so gobsmacked the proposal died immediately. It would appear that nothing has changed insofar as the judgement of the student body by the BHSU faculty.
I firmly believe there is something more behind this than the student’s wishes – I hope the BHSU degree holders, students and faculty oppose this barbaric requirement/plan to a liberal arts degree. I think this is an effort to remove the liberal entities such as music, art, theatre from student access and to create a campus that is more conservative. This is a scary trend and the other institutions needs to take notice.
Turning BHSU into a “fast food” institution and away from being a “white tablecloth” school is going to attract guests? I suppose there’s room for all types of schools but a degree holder from there must be horrified at the drop in esteem and value their diploma will now have.
Part of the issue here is that about 4 years ago (not sure exact time) the regents mandated a 120 credit requirement across the system. You had to petition to require more than 120 credits. In some cases there were degrees that could require over 130 credits. When you have various regental and university requirements and a 120 credit limit you have to start cutting courses somewhere else to get down to the credit limit. By removing this IGR you allow a little more flexibility in programs to require courses and allow students to take courses that might fit better into their major or degree area.
BHSU has never been accused of being a bastion of thought. Over the years, there have been some professors there who really gave a shit about the Cannon. I was exposed to some of these professors in my time there many years ago and will be eternally grateful for that.
The bottom line here is that Governor Tool wants to create welders wherever he can. And there’s nothing wrong with being a welder. But there is something wrong with an institution that claims it’s doing “higher learning” bending the the ideas of some of the lowest intellectual ideals of our times.
True education – the Cannon – is designed to create critical thinkers. We should do what we can to encourage that instead of tracking every post-secondary student to a training curriculum.
On the perfect advice of my favorite BHSU professor, I sent both of my sons to get a Liberal degree before they entered graduate school. They both report that of the many good things I did for them – that was the best thing ever.
That’s a good point, Dennis. When we cut the total credits, something had to give.