University of Memphis students have complained for years that many general education classes are too time consuming, insignificant and unnecessary.
Now it seems those complaints have been heard.
The U of M, along with other Tennessee colleges and universities, are working on ways to cut the requirements for four-year degrees to 120 hours, as requested by the Tennessee Board of Regents.
The purpose of reducing degree hours is to cut down in costs and time to earn a degree.
“I think that most students will welcome (shorter hours),” said Thomas Nenon, assistant vice provost of Academic Affairs. “Students want to get degrees and move on as quickly as they can.”
With the number of credit hours required in many majors, it is impossible for many students to graduate in four years.
“It takes the average U of M student about six and a half years to graduate with a four-year degree,” Nenon said, adding that the primary reason it takes most students longer to graduate is not entirely due to the number of degree hours.
“There are sometimes personal circumstances that require students to quit school for a while,” Nenon said. “Their child gets sick or they may need to work extra hours at a job.”
Students like Preston Lynch, a senior communications major, agreed that cutting the required degree hours would be convenient for students.
“I think it’s a very good idea,” Lynch said. “The general education requirements are a bit too much. Although it is important for U of M students to gain knowledge in other areas, in a lot of cases students spend a lot of time in classes that have nothing to do with the degree they are seeking.”
Vice Provost of Academic Affairs John R. Haddock said that the goal of faculty and staff is to figure out how to maintain quality and do so efficiently in 120 hours.
Representatives of the Tennessee Board of Regents said they hope that 50 percent of programs will be 120 hours by fall 2005 and 100 percent by the next year.
Haddock said that no classes will be cut, but there may be fewer sections of some general education courses. He added that they “have time to work on it.”
The hour changes apply to any undergraduate student who wants to graduate within the next seven years and is using a catalog now Nenon said. Some programs, however, cannot be cut down.
“Some programs like engineering, which is designed as a five-year program, and education can’t be cut down because they require licenses,” he said.
The amount of time a student invests in learning, the quality of the courses they take and students’ work are most important - not the number of courses Nenon said.
