One of the controversy’s we’re considering is the idea of general education requirements in college. The argument is that students should not be forced to take classes that are not relevant to their major. Student’s should be able to chose what they want to take beside their major classes. This would allow student’s to complete a minor or a concentration with more ease.

General framing questions : Is it necessary for students to take required general education classes unrelated to their major? Should students be allowed to pick their general education classes?

Specific framing questions : Would allowing students to pick their general education classes, would more students be able to complete a minor? Are other schools with this ideal producing successful students?

Conjecture: The facts considered would be related to the controversy. The controversy of general education requirements exists. In fact, it is a debate here on campus.  In the past few years, Penn State has looked into revising their general education policy. Last March, Penn State assembled a task force to take on the editing of the policy.

Definition: We can define our problem by showing the changes in the way we define what a good college education is overall. Our group can include what other schools are doing to address this question, and how they are handling the same issue as our university. As students, we can also compile what the student population thinks of this topic and how they would react to a change in the policy.  Combining the professional with the personal will give others a chance to see both sides of the controversy.

Quality: This is a serious issue because it deals with students’ education. It is essential we address the problem, because this issue affects all students entering into secondary education. It is hard to say if this is a good or bad change, but the topic itself is addressing a good cause.

Policy: Action needs to be taken on this controversy. We need to let students know they are being heard, and that the university is doing their best to improve the education being provided. I believe students need to be involved in the process, because they are the ones that will be directly affected by the change. This is an issue many other institutions are also dealing with, and we need to take time to find the right solution.