Pago 8
Daily Nebraskan
Monday, May 6, 1985
Continued front Page 1
sions have been examining degree programs, graduation require
ments, test scores and other factors. They are reporting some
weaknesses and calling for big changes in the nation's college
programs.
One of the most influential reports is "Involvement in Learning:
Realizing the Potential of American Higher Education," issued in
October by the National Institute of Education. In its report, a
seven-member NIE task force concluded that U.S. college curricu
lum "has become excessively vocational in orientation, and the
bachelor's degree has lost its potential tofoster the shared values
and knowledge that bind us together as a society."
The NIE panel cited declining scores on 11 of 15 subject tests
on the National Graduate Record Exam between 1964 and 1982 as
cause for concern. The sharpest reported drops were in subjects
that require verbal skills.
The report also noted an increase in the number of vocational
as opposed to liberal arts degrees awarded from 51 percent .
in 1971 to 64 percent in 1982. The result, the report said, has been
the rise of narrow, specialized college programs that are "isolated
from each other" and students who "end up with fragmented and
limited knowledge."
Among other recommendations, the NIE report advised univer
sity officials to review their curricula and set standards of
"knowledge, capacities and skills that all students must develop
prior to graduation." It also recommended at least two full years of
liberal education for all bachelor's degree candidates even if it
means lengthening some degree programs beyond four years.
A December report of the Nebraska Citizens Commission for
the Study of Higher Education also called for at least two years of
arts and sciences courses in the state college and university
bachelor's programs.
"There is nothing sacred about the present amount of time set
aside for earning a college degree or certificate," the report said,
"and there is little evidence that present curricular priorities,
with their heavy emphasis on employment-specific courses, best
serve the interests of students or society.
G. G. Meisels, dean of the UNL College of Arts and Sciences,
said he has seen the shift to more vocational education, as JoD
markets have tightened and employers have sought graduates
with specialized training. Unfortunately, he said, too many gradu
ates are trained for entry-level jobs "without the broader back
ground necessary for growth and perspective."
But UNL officials aren't ready yet to make radical changes In
the university's undergraduate programs, Meisels said. Unlike
most U.S. universities, UNL has no common degree requirements;
each college sets its own standards for a bachelor's degree. A
sudden change to include the recommended two-year liberal arts
course probably wouldn't work at UNL, he said.
Meisels is chairman of the Chancellor's Commission on General
Liberal Education. Chancellor Martin Massengale appointed the
commission in January to "launch a comprehensive university
wide review of the status of liberal education." Meisels said the
commission's findings may lead to future changes in UNL
curriculum.
For now, however, the study has been informal and philosophi
cal. Commissioners have met in open forums with UNL students,
faculty members, parents and alumni to explore such questions
as:
1. "What are the desirable qualities in an educated person,
regardless of vocation or profession?"
2. "To what degree do you think current UNL graduates reflect
these qualities?"
3. "What do you believe we could do to develop better these
qualities in our students?"
No mention of credit hours, degree requirements or specific
subject knowledge is allowed in these meetings, Meisels said. The
commissioners now are more interested in the definition of an
"educated person" than in finding the means to educate him.
Discussions so far have been "lively," Meisels said. So far the
educational needs determined for all students include the ability
to communicate, to think creatively and analytically and to
develop broad interests and perspectives.
After the commission submits its first report probably
within a year, Meisels said, it may make specific recommenda
tions to broaden undergraduate education. But the changes prob
ably won't include a two-year liberal arts requirement, nor a
specific set of courses that all students would have to take
Meisels said.
Dean Stanley Liberty of the College of Engineering and Tech
nology, said it would be difficult if not impossible to fit two
years of liberal-education courses in the engineering curriculum
The program now is "tied to accreditation standa 'ds" of a national
board, and students would have to stay in school too long to meet
all the requirements, he said.
Most engineering students are "not so narrow as they're
painted to be," Liberty said. He guessed a lot of them would take
more courses in literature, social sciences and humanities if they
had room in their schedules.
Maureen Honey, assistant professor of English, said requiring a
set of mandatory general courses probably won't work, either. As
an undergraduate at Michigan State University, Honey said, she
had to take four survey courses designed to cover humanities
social science, natural science and American thought and
language.
"They thought they were hitting all the bases," Honey said.
"They were at least popular courses on campus. They were just
watered-down, survey-type courses that did not deal with issues in
depth." Bad experiences in these survey courses discouraged
many students from pursuing the subjects further, she said.
Meisels said overview courses within specific majors might be
developed to help students tie their disciplines to other fields.
No college curriculum can cover everything, Meisels said. Per
haps the most important job the commission can do, he said, is to
make faculty members more aware of students' common needs.
With this awareness, he said, professors can emphasize broad
issues in their courses and inspire students to keep learning past
graduation.
"We have an excellent faculty here that are highly committed
to students," Meisels said. "...If you have a good faculty, you're
going to see students develop, no matter what the graduation
requirements are."
Officials question value of graduate exam
By Ann Lowe
Staff Reporter
Falling scores on the national Grad
uate Record Exam recently led educa
tion analysts to think the quality of
education is slipping at U.S.. colleges
and universities.
But testing officials say this may be a
hasty conclusion and that test sccres
may be unfair measures of learning.
According to a recent study by Clif
ford Aldeman, senior associate of the
National Institute of Education, aver
age GRE scores declined in seven sub
ject areas between 1970 and 1982. Ver
bal skills on the GRE General Test
dropped by 28 points during the same
years. As a result of this and other
studies, the NIE has called for a review
of U.S. baccalaureate programs and
stronger liberal arts requirments in
undergraduate curricula.
Alice Irby, vice president of the
Educational Testing Service, which
gives the GRE, disagrees that test
scores indicate a slip in education. In a
February article in Higher Education
and National Affairs, Irby pointed out
that scores on seven GRE subject tests
went up as scores on the other seven
declined. The report also noted a 21
percent increase in scores on quantita
tive tests on the general exam.
Irby wrote that changing score data
may show a shift in student interest
away from humanities and social
sciences toward math and technology
instead of an overall decline in
ability.
Tom Ewing of the ETS information
services division said the kinds of stu
dents who take the GRE may influence
the scores.
The number of foreign students at
U.S. colleges and universities has in
creased since the early 1970s, Ewing
said. Foreign students now account for
at least 10 percent of the graduates
who take the GRE. English is not the
native language of most of these stu
dents, and many of them have majored
in math and science. This may account
partly for the drop in verbal scores and
rise in math scores, he said.
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