Posted on 12/27/2021 5:21:18 AM PST by karpov
What will they learn? That is the question that the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) has been asking America’s colleges for thirteen years in a report by the same name. ACTA is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to holding America’s colleges and universities accountable for promoting academic excellence. Their annual report, What Will They Learn? (WWTL?), which is published in September, gathers and evaluates data on the general education programs of more than 1,000 US liberal arts colleges and universities.
ACTA’s report is unique because it attempts to evaluate what colleges are actually teaching students. Unlike other rating systems, WWTL? examines course catalogs in order to assess the quality of institutions’ core curricula.
Ultimately, the purpose of this report is to assist prospective students in their search for the “right” college by offering data for students to compare schools.
What should students look for in a college? First and foremost, they should consider whether the school offers an academically rigorous core curriculum. The quality of general education matters. It can determine whether or not students learn the foundational knowledge needed for responsible citizenship and professional success.
Unfortunately, the report’s findings reveal that a majority of America’s colleges and universities are falling short in their attempts to educate students. According to the report, “Overall, the results are troubling… On the whole, higher education has abandoned a coherent, content-rich general education curriculum… 67.1% of the schools surveyed require three or fewer of [ ] seven core subjects.”
Given this information, it is not surprising that many students (36 percent) improve very little in their critical thinking skills during their time in college.
(Excerpt) Read more at jamesgmartin.center ...
Composition:
Literature
Foreign Language
US Government or History
Economics
Mathematics
Natural Science
I had all except the US history and foreign language, and the literature and composition classes were combined so I don't know if it would meet ACTA's requirement.
According to Uncle Morty, it all started with spiking the football.
Each of these schools is a state school with taxpayer funding for operations and faculty salaries. As state supported schools the funding is determined and appropriated by the GOP majority state legislature. Where is the oversight? There is none. The legislature and the Department of Education quibble at the margins about the budget and how it will be allocated. The members of the legislature do establish performance criteria, review standards, or review performance.
If the legislature was doing its job there would be accountability for how state money is being spent. Since there is none it is apparent our elected representatives are not doing their job. Yet we must reelect the Republicans to prevent the Democrats from doing even worse. Meanwhile our children receive mediocre educations and millions of tax money is poured down the drain on professor salaries for courses the have no benefit. That’s the “win” in voting for the GOP.
These are fine things to learn, but the state should not dictate what a student should learn.
If someone is studying electrical engineering why force them to also learn a foreign language?
It is dangerous for kids to learn facts in a world where they will be violently shouted down for repeating them. It leads to confusion and lack of self-confidence. A key component of a correct edition is, thus, teaching the ability to ignore peer pressure and media bias.
But they know all 57 genders and their pronouns.
6 paragraphs and no indication what NC is. Lousy writers also.
North Carolina?
probably
They think the “N” in “NC” stands for “Knowledge”.
“If someone is studying electrical engineering why force them to also learn a foreign language?”
Heh, when I was Dept Chair of a EE department, a considerable percentage of hopeful EE majors found that math was a foreign language4 to them. ;-)
“The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal is a nonprofit institute dedicated to improving higher education in North Carolina and the nation. Located in Raleigh, North Carolina, it has been an independent 501(c)(3) organization since 2003. It was known as the John W. Pope Center for Higher Education Policy until January 2017.”
The article is copied from their website.
Four young twenty somethings working in a “kwiky mart” didn’t know that half a dozen was six. they had to google it.
I kid you not.
Many K-12 students are missing out on core knowledge.
I had high school kids working a football game use a calculator to add 4 plus 6. Can’t do that in your head? Those aren’t big numbers.
Then I had to explain 10% to some college kid.
Schools are indoctrination factories and aren’t teaching basic life skills or any information not approved by the commissars.
Education is more than vocational training. In the words of Everett Dean Martin "Education is emancipation from herd opinion, selfmastery, capacity for self-criticism, suspended judgment, and urbanity" (The Meaning of a Liberal Education, 1926).
Knowledge of a foreign language may not be applicable to one's chosen profession or vocation, but it gives one insight into how people think and communicate and into cultures other than one's own as well as enhancing one's knowledge of his own language.
If you don't believe that, surf over to Youtube and check out some videos from Mark Dice or Campus Reform featuring man-in-the-street interviews with college students. Their lack of basic knowledge is astounding.
At Subway I need to say, “Please cut the sandwich into three equal pieces.” If I say, “Please cut it in thirds”, I get deer in the headlights looks.
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