College Guide Aims to Help Students Avoid a 'Thin Education'

From the creator

This is the VOA Special English Education Report, from http://voaspecialenglish.com A new college guide in the United States compares educational requirements in seven subjects. These include math, science, writing and United States history or government. The other subjects are economics, foreign language and literature. The free online guide is from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. The council is a nonprofit group that supports liberal arts education. Its president, Anne Neal, says these areas of knowledge are needed to succeed in a twenty-first century society and an increasingly connected world. Yet she told VOA's Faiza Elmasry it was surprising how many students can graduate with, in her words, a "thin education." Forty-two of the one hundred colleges and universities surveyed received the lowest marks. This meant they required two or fewer of the seven subjects. Five schools received a top grade for requiring six subjects. These were Brooklyn College in New York City, Texas A&M, the University of Texas-Austin, West Point and the University of Arkansas. Robert Costrell is professor of education reform and economics at the University of Arkansas. He says many, if not all, of the top American colleges once had a core curriculum -- a set of courses required for all students. But over the years, many have dropped these requirements. Or they have "watered them down," Professor Costrell says, into what became known as distribution requirements.

Published 2009-11-13 · Watch on YouTube ↗
Availability and playback restrictions are controlled by the original channel.