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As freshmen, students have a plethora of majors to choose from. But, Virginia Tech requires us to take a variety of courses that will educate us beyond our field of study and make us better informed individuals— a.k.a. the Curriculum for Liberal Education.
Founded in 1872 as Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College, there was not much else to take—there were four academic departments: agricultural, mechanical, literary, and scientific and business, according to “A Short History of Virginia Tech.”
But through the years, the university administration decided a well-rounded education promotes a better understanding of one’s chosen academic discipline, whether that is horticulture or history.
Tech has come a long way in promoting liberal education requirements; however, the CLE often falls short on this promise.
For example, take a student who chooses to study engineering for the sole purpose of landing a good job at graduation. Sounds good, right?
“I’ll just take my engineering courses and get by on super easy electives so I won’t have to think too hard,” says the engineer.
Unfortunately, the CLE allows students like our happy-go-lucky engineer to graduate every single semester by allowing him to get by on easy electives. Going to college to learn only what you need, and taking little of what you do not need defeats the purpose of even going off to school. Unfortunately, many students go into college with this approach.
With a program like the CLE, that engineering student should leave Virginia Tech with an understanding of legitimate “critical issues in a global context” and actual applicable skills in “quantitative reasoning.” Taking a genuine Islam or Buddhism class can truly show you “ideas, cultural traditions, and values.” The problem is many do not. This could be due to the relaxed academic goals of the individual, or it could be a result of the institutional system.
The CLE was designed to promote the growth of a student’s intellect in all kinds of fields, not only the ones they choose. Nonetheless, the courses often required to meet the CLE afford students too much leeway in choosing certain courses and therefore tolerates intellectual laziness by allowing students to pick the notorious “joke” classes. Consequently, the quality of the education for which you are paying immense amounts of money is degraded.
Virginia Tech is a modern, forward-thinking institution, but it seems the administration does not realize how many students take intellectual shortcuts through the very system designed to eliminate them.
Programs like the CLE serve a good purpose in promoting diversity among the curriculum, but the system is filled with loopholes. Until the university closes these discrepancies, the student has to be in charge of their academic career.
My advice: branch out and take something you would not normally take.
A version of this article appeared in the Jan 29 issue of the Collegiate Times.
Leave a comment 21 Comments Write a letter to the editor
All letters to the editor must include a name, e-mail, daytime phone number and affiliation to Virginia Tech. Affiliation includes: year and major for students; position and department for faculty and staff; current city for alumni and parents.
This has been already written about before......
www . collegiatetimes . com /stories / 15859 / virginia-tech-curriculum-inhibits-well-rounded-education
www . collegiatetimes . com / stories / 14028 / column-liberal-education-a-necessity-in-every-students-curriculum
www . collegiatetimes . com / stories / 13426 / liberal-education-serves-as-strong-learning-foundation
www . collegiatetimes . com / stories / 19808 / cle-program-is-good-for-students
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Yes the Curriculum for Liberal Education is a problem.
While I have no problem with colleges and departments requring certain CLE courses must be taken for a specific major it starts to be problemtic to seniors especially those trying to graduate. Also, for tranfer students from community college or other institutions.
Focusing on in-major courses does take precedence as opposed to CLE courses that may or may not benefit the student(s).
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Once people realize that hey VT is not an liberal arts school but an engineering school; a STEM school; etc. then a lot of confusion and problems would be solved.
Yes CLE's began with the best of intentions in the early 2000's as part of the University Core Curriculum but once people and politics got involved all bets were off. The administration of the program falls out the feet of the Provost,Commission on Undergraduate
Studies and Policies, University Curriculum Committee for Liberal Education;etc.
If the people in charge were really listening to students or rather do they even care?
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CLE/Core Curriculum/etc has been around since last millennium, my friend...
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Yes, the Curriculum for Liberal Education has been around since the 1980's.
What Anonymous #3 may be referring to is a revision(s) as part of the CLE's in the early 2000's?
Also, there was a U.S. history requirement moratorium in as such in the 2000's.
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Actually, it's a land-grant state university. The stigma that Virginia Tech is a STEM school is preposterous. Many other colleges--land grant ones at that, feature good liberal arts programs. I think the name "Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University" confuses people about our reputation as a STEM school.
Think about other schools like NC State, Clemson, Auburn, Penn State, Texas A&M, LSU, Mississippi State--rather, any "State" university. Almost every single one of them began as "Agricultural and Mechanical Colleges"--just like we did. We fall into the same category. None of these colleges are "STEM" schools. We have distinguished, award-winning faculty in nearly every department--even in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. Ignorant people like you perpetuate these stereotypes about Virginia Tech.
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What "joke" classes is the author talking about?
Oh I know classes like Music Appreciation, Survey of Music,The Creative Process, Appalachian Studies, Creativity & Aesthetic Experience, Insects & Human Society, Human Sexuality, and so on.
Yet when anyone mentions World Regions and holier than thou Boyer it's a different story.
If something covers Area X then take it and move on. It is the student(s) choice what they take and what they do with their education.
Oh and this is college nothing is given to you or is easy.
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Yes Virginia Tech, is a state-sponsored; public; research and land grant university. Yes, many of those schools mentioned did start that way. However, there is a double standard on how degree programs and majors are measured not only at VT but elsewhere. It's great that the are award winning faculty in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences.
However, in the same breath people will say especially nowadays that an English degree is worthless, Communications degree is worthless, History degree is worthless, an Arts degree is worthless. Why is that? Why are these majors a "joke" ? The rationale is that that the job market and economy doesn't want students with those degrees. Those students often have high postgraduate unemployment. VT is called Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University for a reason. The crown jewel is the College of Engineering. Other than an engineering degree and maybe a degree in business from Pamplin basically students are wasting their time and money.
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I'm a liberal arts major, and I'd like to point out that I didn't go to college just "to get a job." I went here to broaden my interests and horizons and to better hone the craft that I love. It may or may not be the field that I eventually make a living in, but I don't care.
To me, the degree defines four years of experience learning and growing, not a means to an end. I'm extremely grateful for my friends in STEM, who will help define the technologies I'll benefit from in the future. But that's not where my talents lie, and I think the STEM fields are better off because I haven't pursued it.
Instead, I'm doing what I love, supporting myself, and I'm graduating in three years Summa Cum Laude. Yes, I have employment plans lined up after graduation. But that's not why I went to school. I went to school to, yes, further myself as an adult. If that's what you see as "worthless", then I'm sorry you have such a limited perspective on the function of a university education.
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"Yes, the Curriculum for Liberal Education has been around since the 1980's. What Anonymous #3 may be referring to is a revision(s) as part of the CLE's in the early 2000's?
Also, there was a U.S. history requirement moratorium in as such in the 2000's."
Some more background please?
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spoken by a true engineer.
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As an employer, I can tell you that when I'm looking for engineers, I'm looking for engineers. Don't believe for a moment that a high tech, or even a heavy industrial, company is interested if its BSME applicant took courses in order to get a well-rounded education.
Ask yourself this, to contrast with the author of the article: "How many liberal arts majors do you see in a quantum physics class?". Doesn't the well-rounded education apply to LA majors as well?
Anyone who quips about a well-rounded education is most likely a writer, a professor, or a school administrator. Which, by the way, are the only professions where a well-rounded education is sought.
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I think that certain areas of the CLEs are effective. Clearly forcing people to take 2 science classes, they not have learn about a science even if they are in a Liberal Arts field, and the same goes for mathematics. They're much more straight forward than anything in the Liberal Arts which I think makes them less likely to be "joke" classes. So I think it does work for liberal arts majors.
Furthermore, I think the ability to write and communicate effectively is necessary for most people in the current job market. If you have to write something to someone and you write it terribly, it creates a lot of unnecessary problems. Having at least a basic writing ability is kind of necessary and I think a lot of students still aren't managing that. I've never taken the First-Year Writing class but I have heard that depending on the teacher it can be a joke. I think that's where the failure occurs. Introducing you to Shakespeare might not help you in life, but teaching you how to write and communicate effectively with the written word is a necessary skill. Especially with e-mail becoming a central means of communication, writing skills are more important than ever before.
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I'm a liberal arts major, and I'd like to point out that I didn't go to college just "to get a job." I went here to broaden my interests and horizons and to better hone the craft that I love. It may or may not be the field that I eventually make a living in, but I don't care.
To me, the degree defines four years of experience learning and growing, not a means to an end. I'm extremely grateful for my friends in STEM, who will help define the technologies I'll benefit from in the future. But that's not where my talents lie, and I think the STEM fields are better off because I haven't pursued it.
Instead, I'm doing what I love, supporting myself, and I'm graduating in three years Summa Cum Laude. Yes, I have employment plans lined up after graduation. But that's not why I went to school. I went to school to, yes, further myself as an adult. If that's what you see as "worthless", then I'm sorry you have such a limited perspective on the function of a university education.
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