¶ … College Education What should be included in a college education? What courses, skills, experiences, and expectations should be required? Research the requirements of other campuses and compare these to Appalachian State University's requirements. What ideas would you recommend Appalachian keep and what ideas would you take from other campuses?

No college education can be 'all things' to 'all people.' Every campus and college community is diverse, and must cater to the needs of its own unique population. Given this stipulation, however, no college can ignore the state of flux and change in the world. A college education must meet the changing needs of the student, the economy, and the demands of life. It must give students the necessary skills to succeed in today's economy and learning environment and prepare them for the future, not the past. Thus, changing the components of a college experience is something that a school must consider from time to time, to keep its outlook 'fresh.' In considering changes for Appalachian State University, and to gain a broad sampling of what is common for colleges to require today, it is useful to examine examples of what is considered the quintessential pinnacle of academic college education, that of the 'Ivy League' experience, a nontraditional college experience, and finally a trade school.

The Ivy League university, Columbia University, informs its undergraduates in the school of arts and sciences: "the Core Curriculum is the cornerstone of a Columbia education. Central to the intellectual mission of the Core is the goal of providing all Columbia students, regardless of their major or concentration, with wide-ranging perspectives on significant ideas and achievements in literature, philosophy, history, diversity of areas, as most schools ask of their undergraduates. Rather, Columbia freshman are offered a choice of a group of specifically freshman seminars. They are offered a limited choice, but must select a certain number of required area, to ensure that regardless of their major, all students will be exposed to a similar yet diverse array of subjects, texts and theories. Writing seminars specifically designed for freshman are an added component of the core, as is a foreign language. The bonding experience of all freshman taking similar courses before deciding on a major also creates a cohesive identity at the school and reflects the school's ideal that all students have a common sense of one another as learning together as a college community, even if they have different vocational aims.
In contrast to Columbia, the nontraditional school Colorado College offers its undergraduates the ability not simply to learn together, but to work together to learn research and life skills during their college education. For example, students engaged in environmental studies conduct field research in required hands-on components…