Ryan Kerns
Higher education in the United States today is suffering greatly from a not so obvious problem: the curriculum. Over the past couple of decades, there has been a tremendous increase in how specific the curriculums of bachelorette degrees truly are. Instead of students learning a wide range of topics, they are focusing more on their current choice of major. This causes students to “neglect” other courses that are not needed for their study. While this does allow for students to become more focused on their major and to prepare themselves for the workforce in that very specific area, it leaves no room for other classes that may be essential later on in life. Many students change their major throughout their college experience and end up on the short end of the stick when it comes to catching back up in the curriculum required for their new field. Unfortunately, the problems do not end there. Many students will stick to their original major throughout college. However, when they encounter the real work force that their major includes, they find that they do not enjoy their career. So, they try to find another job only to find that they are seriously lacking the necessary skills required to become successful. This creates many unhappy or unemployed people. According to Deborah Dezure of State University Online, “Business and industry leaders decried the inadequate skills of graduates who were unable to problem-solve, communicate through writing and speaking, engage in ethical decision-making, work in teams, and interact effectively with diverse others.” All of these skills could have been obtained through a much broader curriculum as opposed to a very specific major based one. This is one of many curriculum debates that professionals have been discussing for years. For example, Dr. Frederick Rudolph explains in his scholar journal: Curriculum. A History of the American Undergraduate Course Study since 1636, that he has been comparing different curriculum strategies throughout history since 1636 and is yet to find the right answer. So, how do higher education professionals develop a diverse curriculum that better suites the needs of the students’ future instead of preparing them specifically for their major? And when will the professionals start to realize that they are hindering the students’ opportunities in the future?
Higher education in the United States today is suffering greatly from a not so obvious problem: the curriculum. Over the past couple of decades, there has been a tremendous increase in how specific the curriculums of bachelorette degrees truly are. Instead of students learning a wide range of topics, they are focusing more on their current choice of major. This causes students to “neglect” other courses that are not needed for their study. While this does allow for students to become more focused on their major and to prepare themselves for the workforce in that very specific area, it leaves no room for other classes that may be essential later on in life. Many students change their major throughout their college experience and end up on the short end of the stick when it comes to catching back up in the curriculum required for their new field. Unfortunately, the problems do not end there. Many students will stick to their original major throughout college. However, when they encounter the real work force that their major includes, they find that they do not enjoy their career. So, they try to find another job only to find that they are seriously lacking the necessary skills required to become successful. This creates many unhappy or unemployed people. According to Deborah Dezure of State University Online, “Business and industry leaders decried the inadequate skills of graduates who were unable to problem-solve, communicate through writing and speaking, engage in ethical decision-making, work in teams, and interact effectively with diverse others.” All of these skills could have been obtained through a much broader curriculum as opposed to a very specific major based one. This is one of many curriculum debates that professionals have been discussing for years. For example, Dr. Frederick Rudolph explains in his scholar journal: Curriculum. A History of the American Undergraduate Course Study since 1636, that he has been comparing different curriculum strategies throughout history since 1636 and is yet to find the right answer. So, how do higher education professionals develop a diverse curriculum that better suites the needs of the students’ future instead of preparing them specifically for their major? And when will the professionals start to realize that they are hindering the students’ opportunities in the future?
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