One of the most wonderful aspects about UT is that many various types of students can be educated within its walls. This allows for students of political science, mathematics, English, graphic design and musicology all to interact with each other on campus, further enhancing their education experience. However, one issue I do not understand is the varied sets of expectations placed on these majors. While I realize that it is necessary to consider each field individually when establishing an effective and efficient curriculum, I do think it is always necessary to balance the quality and standards of education in one field to another.
For example, I am a senior in microbiology. In order to provide both an academic and a practical education in my field, I am required to take two microbiology labs on top of all the prerequisite labs I’ve taken prior to my major classes (two in physics, three in chemistry, and three or four in biology). Each of these labs is roughly one to two credit hours, but you are guaranteed to spend three or more hours in the lab per credit hour. In advanced micro lab, I received two credit hours for spending roughly seven actual hours in the lab per week. This is amplified in my research lab, where I receive three credit hours for roughly 15 hours of research per week. My labs have been this way throughout my entire college career. I have spent countless more hours in lab than my final transcript will ever reflect. However, I do actually believe that these labs contribute to my education. I think they are an interesting and necessary part to my full understanding of the world of microbiology.
However, many majors at UT lack the educational opportunities that are provided to the science and engineering students. Friends that I have in political science and history have told me that, for the most part, their credit hours are a fairly accurate reflection of the amount of time they are in class. In essence, they actually spend less time per week being educated than many other students at UT. Admittedly, I do not fully understand the curriculum of the various other majors, but I am led to wonder why the university does not feel the need to require smaller workshops for these students as they do for science and engineering students.
The idea behind any type of lab is that students receive hands on experience in their field. That way they learn practical skills that may amplify their academic education. This can easily be done in other majors. For example, several three hour writing or research workshops where small groups of students are paired with faculty or graduate students could greatly enhance the educational experience of many non-science students at UT. These “labs” would only further serve to produce better writers and greater intellectuals upon graduation.I think innovative ideas such as this are what it takes for UT to become a Top 25 university. However, it is even more important that UT take necessary steps to produce better students regardless of external rankings. This idea could work to achieve both without asking too much from the students. Hopefully the university administration will continue to further evaluate their programs in order to enhance the learning experience.
— Hunter Tipton is a senior in microbiology. He can be reached at [email protected].
