As many of us have feared, it appears the Board of Regents will vote at their October meeting to reduce the graduation requirements for nearly all majors to 120 credits from the current 128.
I urge you to write to Executive Director Jack Warner and ask him how this improves higher education. How does less education enhance the rigor of the degrees we grant?
Our students need more education, not less! These additional eight electives provide students with the opportunity to get experience in additional fields that broadens their knowledge. It makes them better citizens and more employable.
The BOR staff will argue that all of the surrounding states have moved in this direction and nearly every state has adopted it. As my mother used to say, "just because everyone else jumps off the bridge, doesn't mean you have to."
This could be our opportunity to distinguish ourselves further from our neighbors. We can say, "Everyone else watered down their rigor, South Dakota has maintained ours!" How often do we appear first on a list of the states?
Yes, this change will make graduation cheaper for individual students (and they might get done quicker), but it reduces revenue available to the universities. Well, you know, you get what you pay for.
Don't the Regents understand that we have fixed costs based on headcounts, not credits earned? So, we will be asked yet again to do more with less, perhaps $3.1 million next year at SDSU alone.
Finally, why is this decision being made without faculty input. The Board of Regents keep telling us that they value our expertise. Yet, the first indication of this proposal came up at the public forum in their August meeting in Spearfish. Now, we hear, it is on the agenda!
Ask the Regents to give faculty a chance to make our recommendations. Why the rush to decide? Email Jack Warner at [email protected].