General education courses can be some of the most difficult classes taken in a student’s college career.
General education courses are supposedly required to round out a student’s knowledge. Art majors are required to take math and science courses, and science majors must take an art credit, even though these classes have nothing to do with their degrees or interests.
According to the university’s general education requirements, “students must complete the 39-hour general education requirement prior to graduating from LSU.” That’s around three semesters worth of courses.
Many general education courses are a waste of time and money. To get to college, students have already learned the basics of social studies, math and science through a high school or GED program. Why should they have to retake these classes for thousands of dollars?
I used to tutor for a general education American history course. Even though this class is considered easier than many math and science courses, there were a lot of STEM majors doing poorly. It was difficult for these students to pay attention in a class that they found uninteresting and useless academically.
It’s unfair to have students take this many courses outside their field. It took me until my senior year of college to have all my general education courses finished, and they were some of my lowest grades.
Taylor Terry, a political science senior from New Jersey, said she spends thousands of dollars on classes she will never use.
“I had to take multiple maths,” Terry said. “I am a political science major and taking a college algebra class has not helped me with my degree whatsoever. It costs thousands of dollars for me to take these classes. I feel like it’s another way for the university to gain more money from students.”
Terry is right; the university gains a large profit from requiring students to take all these extra courses. If the university did not require general education courses, degree programs would be shorter.
In Europe, college is considerably cheaper, and students generally finish their bachelor’s degree in three years, compared to the U.S. average of four to six years. European universities allow students to take more classes in their specialized fields instead of requiring a hefty load of general education courses.
Cutting down on general education classes will shorten degree programs, save students money and produce better-prepared graduates. Eliminating this unnecessary burden would increase accessibility and allow more students to complete their degrees.
Kacey Buercklin is a 21-year-old political communications senior from Murrayville, GA.
