College education: value, accessibility, and outcomes

¶ … 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, music, art, and science." ("The Common Core," Columbia College, 2005) The core curriculum of Columbia thus reflects the assumption that all students should have the experience of reading the great books that compose the cannon of Western, and to a lesser extent, non-Western literature.

This reflects Columbia's bias that giving its students a broad basis in rigorous philosophical thought, as well as understanding basic music, art, and scientific theory is required to produce the goal of the Columbia education, a well-rounded scholar and person who can meet the demands of any job or academic subject because he or she knows how to think. Columbia does not simply require, however, that all of its students take courses in a 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 of their classes. This reflects the school's ideal that skills and working one's education into one's life is necessary. Unusual majors such as Peace Studies are offered at Colorado College that transgress traditional disciplinary boundaries. The school makes use of a Block Plan of scheduling. This mandates small classes as part of the university's mission and encourages "focused, intensive learning," as students take only one class a semester. Colorado semesters are very short, so students take the usual number of classes by the end of the year. This allows students to focus on one area of study, conduct research, and completely devote themselves to a single subject every minute of the students' academic lives. ("Academics," Colorado College, 2005)

As idealistic as Colorado's learning environment may be, and ideally suited to students who like a highly focused approach to their education (as opposed to Columbia's very broad approach) students who wish to combine their college education with work and family life might find block scheduling difficult at a state school. This intensive style also makes it difficult to get major requirements over with quickly for students with a clear vocational aim to their schooling, like becoming a nurse.

For an unusual or hands-on learning experience, however, Colorado College offers a unique opportunity for students who appreciate and benefit from highly focused intellectual and skills-based challenges. It is an innovative way to gain a college education, and offers a possible idea to other universities to make at least some such intensive courses available during winter terms or breaks, perhaps, or during the summer. Incorporating research and real life skills from the beginning, not just an internship, is also another potential lesson from the school.

Johnson and Wales offers another hands-on approach to college learning, but with the expectation not of broadening the applicant's mind and life experiences alone, but to prepare individuals for a trade, such as working as a chef. Like Colorado, from the beginning it offers students hands-on experiences. But rather than allowing the student to design a particular college experience, the program of internship and classes are highly regimented, to ensure that every individual leaves the school with a critical array of skills necessary for success in the world. ("Hands-on Learning," Johnson and Wales, 2005)