2008 Woodie Awards
Gen. Ed. not so general
Rob Eaton
Issue date: 11/13/04 Section: Viewpoint
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Ready to graduate? I'm not. There is a chance that some of you aren't ready either. And no, this is not the senior column, and I'm not talking about the senior class being emotionally unprepared to leave, I'm talking about not having your general education requirements fulfilled.
This week I discovered that the course I needed to take, HIS 118, is only a fall semester course. Some might argue that I probably should've known this, but to be honest I didn't. The school has so many requirements to keep track of that I simply lost this one, trying to keep tabs on the ones for my two majors, and the rest of the Gen-Eds.
Just as a side note, I understand the idea of the general education requirements, exposing us to subject areas and ideas we wouldn't normally be presented with, but sometimes we lose sight of that when maddeningly trying to fulfill all of them before graduation. This story of mine is one such instance.
Now I went down to the Registrar's Office to inquire as to what I could do about such a mess. Would the school really let something like the second half of an introductory history course prevent me from graduating? The registrar presented me with what was an arduous, but straightforward process.
I needed to first go to the head of the history department to get permission for an independent study, followed by finding a professor to administer it. After planning a course of action with that professor, I was supposed to submit that proposal to Dean of Studies Sister Ellen Guerin and have her approve it, then bring that back to the registrar to see if I would get credit for it. Oh yes, at some point during all this I had use my knowledge of quantum mechanics to design and prove the oft refuted idea of a perpetual motion machine. Ah you say, perpetual motion is an unattainable feat; you certainly couldn't have figured that out allowing yourself to get the study. Well, you're right, but I never got that far anyways.
To be fair, I'll add in the note now that independent studies are not usually granted solely to fulfill requirements, but usually to students that have a particular interest in that area. Now, I'm no Frank Woods with the history, but I think I could handle one of these studies if presented with the opportunity.
This week I discovered that the course I needed to take, HIS 118, is only a fall semester course. Some might argue that I probably should've known this, but to be honest I didn't. The school has so many requirements to keep track of that I simply lost this one, trying to keep tabs on the ones for my two majors, and the rest of the Gen-Eds.
Just as a side note, I understand the idea of the general education requirements, exposing us to subject areas and ideas we wouldn't normally be presented with, but sometimes we lose sight of that when maddeningly trying to fulfill all of them before graduation. This story of mine is one such instance.
Now I went down to the Registrar's Office to inquire as to what I could do about such a mess. Would the school really let something like the second half of an introductory history course prevent me from graduating? The registrar presented me with what was an arduous, but straightforward process.
I needed to first go to the head of the history department to get permission for an independent study, followed by finding a professor to administer it. After planning a course of action with that professor, I was supposed to submit that proposal to Dean of Studies Sister Ellen Guerin and have her approve it, then bring that back to the registrar to see if I would get credit for it. Oh yes, at some point during all this I had use my knowledge of quantum mechanics to design and prove the oft refuted idea of a perpetual motion machine. Ah you say, perpetual motion is an unattainable feat; you certainly couldn't have figured that out allowing yourself to get the study. Well, you're right, but I never got that far anyways.
To be fair, I'll add in the note now that independent studies are not usually granted solely to fulfill requirements, but usually to students that have a particular interest in that area. Now, I'm no Frank Woods with the history, but I think I could handle one of these studies if presented with the opportunity.