A Survey of Core Requirements at our Nation’s Colleges and ...

A Survey of Core Requirements at our Nation's Colleges and Universities

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This report was prepared by the sta of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, primarily Tom Bako, Lauri Kempson, Heather Lakemacher, and Eric Markley, under the direction of Dr. Michael Poliako . The American Council of Trustees and Alumni is an independent nonprofit dedicated to academic freedom, academic excellence, and accountability. Since its founding in 1995, ACTA has counseled boards, educated the public, and published reports about such issues as good governance, historical literacy, core curricula, the free exchange of ideas, accreditation, and cost. ACTA's previous reports on college curricula include What Will They Learn? (2009), The Vanishing Shakespeare (2007), The Hollow Core (2004), Becoming an Educated Person (2003), and Losing America's Memory (2000).

For further information about ACTA and its programs, please contact:

American Council of Trustees and Alumni 1726 M Street, NW, Suite 802 Washington, DC 20036 Phone: 202-467-6787 or 888-ALUMNI-8 Fax: 202-467-6784 ? info@

A Survey of Core Requirements at our Nation's Colleges and Universities

American Council of Trustees and Alumni 2010

FOREWORD

The crisis in higher education is about more than money. It is about what we have been paying for, paying for dearly. The public, even in these hard times, supports higher education with its tax dollars. And families make huge sacrifices to send their sons and daughters to college. They deserve in return higher education that provides real preparation for a challenging, dynamic world economy and for the continuing demands of engaged and informed citizenship.

In this report, ACTA examines just what it is that tuition dollars and public support are paying for. We ask whether American undergraduates are gaining a reasonable college-level introduction to seven core subjects. Will they find at their colleges and universities a coherent core curriculum that identifies critical areas for required study? Or will they be left to devise their own general education from an array of random, unconnected choices?

These are not trivial questions. In a time of economic uncertainty and rapid changes in career opportunities, a college education that lacks a solid core betrays the public trust. By asking such questions, parents, trustees, policymakers, and prospective students can sound a wake-up call to colleges and universities.

That is why ACTA is issuing this report--and making much more information available at . We cut through the rhetoric of college catalogs and get to what matters: what will students be expected to learn. For fifteen years, ACTA has focused on higher education accountability, and we hope our findings will help parents and students make informed choices and motivate trustees and alumni to demand more of their institutions.

Anne D. Neal President

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1 The Importance of the Core ...............................................................................................4 Our Criteria............................................................................................................................7 Key Findings........................................................................................................................12 Solutions.............................................................................................................................. 20 Frequently Asked Questions ........................................................................................... 22 How Do the Institutions Compare?............................................................................... 26 State Report Cards

General Education Grades, Tuition & Fees, and Graduation Rates ......................................... 39 End Notes ........................................................................................................................... 117 Appendix

Details on School Evaluations .............................................................................................. 118 College/University Index .............................................................................................. 169

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