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Appendix 7

General Education Task Force
Student Group Oral Interview Responses
(summary of notes taken by 3 people)

November 22, 2004

Overarching thought : We want general education to prepare us for the world.

1. Connections
Students see connections, recognize culture as important for all
See connections within humanities and within sciences but not necessarily between these two groups

  • Students saw connections between Life of Holiness and World Civilization.
  • Student saw connections between literature courses and major courses
  • Student saw connections between Old/New Testament and history courses
  • Student believed there were connections within the sciences and within the humanities but didn’t see many connections across the two disciplines
  • Student found that connections between sciences and humanities were tough to make
  • Student saw connections across humanities courses—feminist perspectives and histories were cited

2. Size of GE
Many students find GE so big that they are unable to do other things (double major, minor, international experience) within four years.

  • Student believed size of gen. ed. seemed good—easy to fit within 4 years, depending on major
  • Student believed gen. ed. requirements were heavy for science students—no such thing as electives
  • Student found gen. ed. to be “immense”
  • Student found that Biochemistry had a huge course load so there was no room for electives
  • Student believed gen. ed. was too big and found it hard to fit with a major and minor, even coming to PLNU with previous credits
  • Student wondered why nursing majors don’t need to meet foreign language requirements—especially in California
  • Student wondered whether it would be possible to find a middle ground in terms of size of gen. ed. Recommended one requirement from each area instead of two, then fill out the rest of the unit requirement with elective gen. ed. courses.
  • A few students cited the need for summer school to finish the gen. ed. and major requirements comfortably

3. Advising issues
Students wanted advising in the freshman year that was more responsive to student request and that took student individuality into consideration.

  • Student was frustrated because she couldn’t double major because she wasn’t allowed to take foreign languages during her freshman
  • Student was frustrated by not being able to choose courses as an incoming freshman. She was an art major being forced to take BIO101 in her first semester and wanted to drop out of school because of it
  • Hard for transfers
  • Student 2 years on their own should take PSY 103 not 101

4. PSY 101
Students were annoyed by the overly personal, non-academic nature of the course.

  • Student didn’t like PSY101—too much personal development, not enough traditional psychology material (prominent psychiatrists and theories, etc.)
  • Student was frustrated by spending $2400 for a class about herself—annoyed with personal mapping
  • Student believed that PSY101 was too focused on personal development. “You don’t ever learn about psychology if you don’t take other psychology classes.”

5. Specific courses

  • Student believed BIB101 was awful. Student didn’t see connections nor how it was ever going to apply to his life.
  • Student believed that gen. ed. was too heavy in the sciences. “How will understanding thermal hailing cycles ever help me?”

6. Flexibility
Students wanted to count for GE what they wanted to take. (Wanted GE to be electives.)

  • Student felt there are more interesting literature courses available than those that are offered as gen. ed. (It was noted that many of those courses look more accessible to the novice than they really are.)
  • Student wanted a course in 19th c. art or Russian literature to count for gen. ed. instead of being limited to lower division foundational courses
  • Student wondered whether gen. ed. requirements could be more flexible.
  • Student wanted more integration of gen. ed. courses across all four years like the integrated semester for freshmen

7. Discipline

  • Student was frustrated by fellow students who seem incredibly disinterested and disrespectful in gen. ed. courses
  • Student found their fellow students to be quite disrespectful in gen. ed. courses

8. Pluses

  • Student enjoyed gen. ed. thoroughly because she got to meet and converse with people outside her major
  • Student appreciated the way in which gen. ed. courses broadened his awareness in areas previously unconsidered
  • Student enjoyed the context that gen. ed. provides for “everything”
  • Student was pleasantly surprised by certain gen. ed. courses—originally was angry about “worthless” classes like BIB101 and 102 but ended up as a theology major with a psychology minor. Psychology was another subject he thought he’d never pursue
  • Integrated semester helped me make connections in future courses.
  • Gen Ed helps people decide their major; more flexibility in scheduling first semester.
  • Importance of GE to personal development

9. Negatives

  • Student noted that, within departments, there were a variety of professors with a variety of approaches to the gen. ed. courses, which can be good and bad
  • Student quoted one gen. ed. professor who said, “Eighty percent of what I say is true. Twenty percent is what I have to give you in order to fit the material in a semester. You just have to ride with it.” Student was frustrated by this and asked, “Who has the time to pursue those answers?”
  • Student felt the “Nazarene-ness” of the university was too overt. It seemed to be presented as the only lens through which something could be interpreted
  • Student believed that some gen. ed. courses (esp. sciences) were primarily focused on rote memorization, which wasn’t particularly helpful. Student was frustrated because there was no time for finding out the “why” of that discipline.
  • Student suggested that math and science courses should not be the same as what was offered in high school
  • Student found biology class to be “super boring” because it was the same as high school
  • Offended by how Bible interpretations are presented as truth.
  • Relevance of some things in Earth Science/chemistry
  • “I come out with more questions than answers”

10. Suggestions

  • Student believed gen. ed. should offer broader view in early college years
  • Student wanted more classes in “intangibles”
  • Student liked the core requirements of the freshman year when students were all going through the same “stuff” at the same time
  • Student indirectly said she doesn’t feel her university respects racial, justice, and gender issues because they can take an economics course instead of this class.
  • Student believed there were not enough classes in social awareness and current issues
  • More deliberate integration like in ISF
  • Core and mix of perspectives
  • the integration of the class race and ethnicity in the general ed curriculum since I think it is an interesting class and it would provide a way of allowing our highly white dominant student body group to be exposed to different realities and terms on how to view and understand racism, race, and diversity. (mail in answer)