IN LESS than a month, thousands of undergraduates will take their final stroll down the Lawn as college students at Final Exercises. For most of them, four hard years were invested in their education at the University and graduation is a welcome liberation. However, an increasing number of students across the country are facing the "four-year crunch"--an effort by colleges to get as many undergrads as possible in and out in four years, regardless of individual circumstances. With a substantial number of academic requirements imposed by colleges on students, and an interest in producing as many well-rounded individuals as possible, the University and schools nation-wide should change priorities a little bit and encourage students to complete a fifth year for their Bachelor's degree whenever students feel that doing so would be in their best interest..
It's no secret that colleges aren't in a hurry to endorse students taking nine or more semesters to complete their degrees. Popular wisdom has jumped on board with this philosophy; sites such as newsreview.com, for example, feature guides with titles like "How to Get Out in Four Years." Some administrators also fear that students who take longer are more prone than others to never graduate. Paul Bell, dean of the college of arts and sciences at Oklahoma University, writing in response to a similar column by an OU student, notes that "anecdotal evidence indicates that students who are not focused on graduating in a timely manner simply burn out and never graduate ... Time is precious." This is undoubtedly true in some cases, but there is much to be said for taking some extra time.
In my column two weeks ago, I discussed the idea of "technological literacy". This is essentially the need for people, regardless of career or educational focus, to have a basic understanding of science, the engineering process and how problems are solved in these academic disciplines. This way, someone working in any field, such as business or law, will have an idea of the kinds of questions they need to ask and the information they need to get before making decisions on a wide range of issues. The rise of technology as a changing force in the workplace is perhaps the single biggest contributor to the need for an expanded core curriculum. Yet as all of this new information becomes ever more crucial, the basic four-year structure of undergraduate education has remained unchanged for years.
Of course, this need aside, many students simply desire the opportunity to take a program of study with more breadth. For someone planning a double major in the College, there is a need to start planning relatively early on how to knock out all of the required courses. Students in specialized programs, particularly the School of Engineering, have it even worse. Taking a look at the University's Mechanical Engineering undergraduate curriculum, for example, reveals the extreme rigidity of certain programs. This curriculum lays the framework for a student's course of study from first semester until graduation. It leaves room for an "unrestricted elective" class exactly three times in four years. To be fair, there is room for an elective of some sort in almost every semester, but even these have restrictions on them (for example, "science elective", etc.).
The nature of engineering is such that it is highly specialized and mandates a focused curriculum. That is to be expected. Still, universities don't want to graduate increasingly large numbers of students without basic proficiency in fields outside of their major. For example, a few economics, business or politics courses would probably benefit engineering students a great deal, but it is difficult to schedule these types of courses regularly in such a compact program. Students in the College face similar constraints, just to a lesser degree.
With these reasons in mind for encouraging a ninth or tenth semester, it seems that all students could benefit from more time in school. In the future, this might come to be necessary. In the meantime, however, it should only be on a voluntary basis. The main rationale here is simply financial: many students would be hard-pressed to pay for another year of college. Universities would also have to enhance their infrastructure and increase their services to accommodate an expanded undergraduate population. This would be asking a lot from both students and colleges, and therefore isn't too realistic, at least not in the short-term.
What colleges can do, however, is not demonize the fifth year, or discourage students who are financially able from taking a little extra time. Unfortunately, colleges are under pressure to compel students to refrain from this option. College rankings, such that of U.S. News and World Report, use four-year graduation rates as one of the criteria for grading schools. As long as this is the case, no college will be overly enthusiastic about having fifth-year seniors abound. A change in this rankings system might be the only way to ensure that universities truly find it in their own interest to graduate better-rounded students. If that becomes a goal, all of us will be better served.
Ross Lawrence is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. He can be reached at rlawrence@cavalierdaily.com.
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