All North Carolina colleges and universities claim that they require undergraduates to take courses in “core” subjects such as composition, mathematics, and science. But a new Pope Center survey that scrutinized and quantified those claims shows that many schools fall short.
A solid core curriculum — sometimes called “general education” — largely is acknowledged to be an important part of university education. Strong basic courses help students develop a spirit of inquiry, logical thinking, and a regard for the proper evaluation of evidence. They give students an understanding of the scientific method, make them more literate, and provide a sense of history and the framework of time.
The Pope Center survey was compiled and analyzed by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, an independent nonprofit organization that works with trustees, alumni, and education leaders across the United States. The survey examined general education requirements at 48 of the state’s 54 accredited four-year nonprofit colleges and universities — and gave those schools letter grades from A to F.
The grades are based on detailed reviews of the latest publicly available online course catalogs. ACTA reviewed the catalogs to determine whether the schools require the core subjects of composition, economics, foreign language, literature, mathematics, science, and U.S. history or government. In order to receive top marks, a school must require courses in six or seven of the seven core subjects.
As ACTA makes clear on its website, WhatWillTheyLearn.com, simply listing literature or mathematics as a requirement is not sufficient to meet its standards. For example, in order for a U.S. history or politics course to be counted, the course must have “enough breadth to give a broad sweep of American history and institutions. Narrow, niche courses do not count for the requirement, nor do courses that only focus on a particular state or region.”
The website notes that “distribution requirements” often allow students to choose courses that are “narrow or even outside the stated field altogether.”
The only school in North Carolina to receive an “A” was Wingate University. Only two schools in the state, UNC-Pembroke and Wingate University, require students to study economics, and only two others, Belmont Abbey College and Chowan University, require courses in U.S. government or history. Twenty-two universities required at least four of the seven surveyed courses, receiving a grade of “B.”
Nationally, only 18 schools received an “A” grade, including Kennesaw State University, St. John’s College, Thomas Aquinas College, the U.S. Air Force Academy, and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Of the 18 schools receiving A’s, only two require courses in all seven core subject areas.
How did your university do?
Jenna Ashley Robinson is outreach coordinator of the John W. Pope Center for Higher Education Policy (popecenter.org).