LETTER TO THE EDITOR: General Education requirements may be a waste of money

Written by Paul Backowski Friday, 13 March 2009 08:00

Universities across the country are filled with more red tape and paper-made hurdles than with actual students. North Dakota State University definitely is guilty in terms of having too many hurdles. Like many universities, NDSU requires students within every major to fulfill a general education requirement. My complaint is not because NDSU has a requirement, but because NDSU has more requirements just to meet the math general education obligation.

To fulfill the math general education requirement, students at NDSU must complete Math 103 or 104. Students that do not qualify for Math 104 after enrolling at NDSU are required to enroll in two lower level math classes. Students must pay for each credit, like every other class at NDSU. The difference is that students do not get credit towards graduation for taking the class. The credits from the lower level math classes basically disappear after a student completes Math 104. So why would NDSU wish to waste its students money, especially during a recession? Do NDSU officials wish to waste student’s money because the Math Department is not busy enough? The Math Department needs students to fill its classes so that the department’s teacher’s assistants are able to get some experience.

NDSU should focus on quality instead of quantity, especially during a recession. That means cutting back on the number of teacher’s assistants within the math department. Let students choose courses that will actually count towards graduation.  

Sincerely,

Paul Backowski

Senior Public Relations and Advertising

Students for Education Equality (SEE)