BY ASHLEY WESTBROOK
(Webster Groves, March 2, 2010) The votes are in: Webster University students
applying for the August 2012 term are in for a new general education program. On March 1, faculty at Webster voted in favor of an alternative general education plan for new and prospective students.
“I’m glad the faculty made a decision with a clear majority,” Ralph Olliges, the Faculty Senate president said.
The new program, called the Breadth Requirements, will have six requirements for students to complete instead of the former nine categories, such as math and science.
Bruce Umbaugh, a professor of philosophy and director of the Global Citizenship Project, said this is a step towards a new path.
“The new Global Citizenship Program is a much more intentional approach to undergraduate learning, although the program has approved falls short of what some of us aspired to achieve,” Umbaugh said. “It’s good to be in a position now to begin implementing the program and preparing our students for the challenges for the 21 century. “
Christina Pellerito, sophomore music major, said she doesn’t feel left out of the new general education program.
“I feel like I received just the right amount of general education before solely focusing on my major,” Pellerito said. “At any rate, I don’t feel like I missed out on anything. It is what it is, and I’m not going to complain about it.”
The program skill requirements also states that students must complete three credit hours in a written and oral communication, which isn’t an odd process for a university to go through, said Olliges.
“(General education) should be viewed on a regular basis,” Olliges said. “You don’t do that every year, but every university should review their general education as appropriate. That might be small changes, or it might be more dramatic changes.”
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