European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 3, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Freshmen Are taking a now course on ways of knowing which e  them to he major branches of knowledge in classes of no More than 1 5 students. As sophomores they will be required to take a  course Laughl by la Cully members irom two different areas. One option is women in soviet society under the Tutelage of professors of Art end history. Then As seniors hey will participate in a baccalaureate forum taught by our faculty members that explores ethical and other Broad issues related to their held of study. The trend toward distribution requirements is continuing though the underlying concepts Are becoming More Complex. One target of the strengthened requirements is the reluctance of Many students to study science at Wesleyan University which re instituted distribution guidelines in 1979, the acuity voted last year to tighten requirements so Hal students could not escape science courses. Barry kicker a professor of biology there said the Vole reflected a growing willingness on the part of scientists id broaden their leaching horizons. Many colleges have begun to require students to demonstrate proficiency in certain skill areas such As foreign languages. Barnard College has a requirement in math Trinity in writing and Oberlin College in Ohio in foreign languages. There s 3 new emphasis on competencies said Elaine i Hawas of the american Council on education. People Aren t Only Ashing. Have students had three courses in history and one in physics they re asking have they picked up critical thinking skills and writing skills " part tip the most striking the Mil that runs through the current curricular changes is the expansion of inter disciplinary studies. Colgate is completing the firs Cycle of its new general education program which includes a sequence of four classes intended to change the traditional Way students think. The rationale Lor inter disciplinary courses is that real world problems do not usually conform to the arbitrary divisions of College faculties. Some scholars also see pedagogical benefits especially if professors from different areas can to put info the same classroom. It s the Best thing in the world for faculty to get out of their  said Anthony avens professor of astronomy and anthropology Al Colgate. Many colleges have begun requiring students not Only to explore various ways of thinking but also to delve into particular subjects such As the growing importance of technology. At Lone College in new Rochelle n.y., students must take a two year sequence of five courses that pose problems that must be solved through Laboratory work. Several weeks ago John o Connor a 21 year old finance major at Tona poured some water and alcohol into a plastic dish end put it outside his Home in Brewster no to coiled a dust from the atmosphere he Ihen used the dust Sample to estimate the level of local air pollution. In today s world it s important i grasp issues such As the environment nuclear Energy and All the new medical technologies said brother John g. Driscoll president of Lona. In curriculum design is whether colleges should offer at least a few courses that til students must Lake. Columbia College has Long taken such an approach through its contemporary civilization and humanities courses which Are required of freshmen and sophomores when you have 1 ,000 kids Reading the same Book you got a Tol of intellectual arguments in the dorms said James v. Mirollo a professor of English and comparative us erbium of Columbia. Other  also embracing the idea. Brooklyn College of the City University of Mew York has attracted National attention for its new Core curriculum which consists of 10 required courses in Fields ranging from Art and literature to computer programming. As concern about the Quality of undergraduate curriculum grows some faculties have begun to question dome past assumptions including the traditional idea that general education is something to be Golten out of the Way in the first two years of College. The University of Washington in Seattle has begun a new College studies program under which slide nos can fulfil part of in to general Edu Atton program by a linked sequence o three upper level courses around a particular theme. One such sequence the universe consists of courses offered by an astronomer a physicist and a Oto Logist. We think it is important for some of the general education to be done Al a More advanced  said Ernest m. Hentey Dean of the College of arts and sciences Al the University of Washington in Seattle. Some academics say they do nut think the changes in the curriculum go far enough. Peter Stanley the program officer in charge of education and cum re or the Ford foundation which has supported Many of the changes said there is nothing conceptually interesting about distribution requirements proficiency requirements or even some of the new Content areas. Many education experts believe thai any significant change in the curriculum depends on finding a Way of forcing faculty members to think beyond their own discipline. Educators argue that training a now Breed of faculty members with More Eclectic interests is the key to the improvement of undergraduate bitter debate Over tuition by Lee Mitgang associated Pressa s education Secretary William j. Bennett recently put it Many of America s colleges Are Al it  the it in question is the trend six years Long and counting of colleges announcing tuition increases Way above the Overall inflation rate. What makes this year s tuition debate different and More bitter is Bennell entering the Iray railing about How higher education is not underfunded. It is under accountable and under  fueling Bennett s scepticism was a Carnegie foundation report last fall concluding in sum that colleges Tike our Grade schools arc troubled institutions More successful in credentialing than in providing a Quality education the University of Chicago has announced that next fall s tuition and fees room and Board will increase 6.1 percent to to 7,034. Harvard announced a 5.9 percent hike to $17,100, while Cornell will charge $16,320, a 6 percent increase. The Massachusetts Institute of technology s costs will Rise 5.1 percent to $16,970. Rollins College in Winter Park fla., upped its Rale by 11 percent to $13,295. Washington University in St. Louis boosted its fees by 7 percent to $15.568. Bennington College perennially the nation s tuition pacesetter will increase ils total Bill by $1,000 to $17,990 for next fall s freshmen. The increases Are the smallest in years averaging around 6 percent and colleges say that s Good news. But tuition Irr Crapim arc Slit running far ahead of the nation s inflation Rale a Mere 1.1 percent As measured by the consumer Price Index in 1986. And less Hart 2 percent the year before. Here s my Bottom line Bennett said in an interview. If i left better about what we were getting for the tuition Dollar i would t complain so  Deputy under secretory Bruce m. Carnes expanded his Boss s charge a cottages could prove is Yogi be More value for the higher tuition  he said. But very few places Era willing to prove thai. They just keep raising prices because they can. And when you question it they come Back with a Superior and belittling response like your question just proves How ignorant you Are. You can Pul a Price tag on knowledge. No expense is too Greal " in thai sense said Carnes they intimidate  in reply College presidents have lately written innumerable letters to editor and oped columns reiterating that 1 la Cully salaries lost ground in the inflationary 1970s, 2 buildings Are crumbling 3 Library books Cost More than Ever 4 tuition in t taking a bigger percentage bite out of disposable income than in years past and 5 it is naive to suggest thai colleges could do More to Cut costs. Why Don t we produce a More Cost Elf Clive budget asked Washington College president Douglass Cater in a March 16 oped piece in the new York times to ask this question is slightly equivalent to asking Why Chopin Ilid nol pare his minute Wall to 50 seconds or so Bennett s criticisms have rallied even his supporters. I m a Republican from the word go but what Bennett is saying just in t so said George m. Harmon president of Millsaps College in Jackson miss., one of the top Liberal arts colleges in the South and often cited As a Best buy with a Tola student Tab of less than 110,000 for next fall. The Price of College has gone up he said because More is demanded of them than 20 years ago. We have air conditioned dorms that we would t have dreamed of. We have Job placement centers. We have career  shortly after announcing a 5.9 percent Rise in student costs to 16,918 Tor the 1987-88 academic year Princeton University officials invited a Small group of education reporters for an extraordinary Day Long explanation of their tuition decisions. The Princeton ans were indeed persuasive on one Porfil excellence cos is. Still one might quibble Over whether full Princeton professors already paid an average of $63,000, would really Llee Tor Greener corporate pastures in they did l receive subsidized housing or whether All Princeton employees from the janitors on up should get $4,000 per year Lor any child a lending any College. Such quibbles aside even some College officials themselves concede thai Market forces arc at least As important As instil Rhonal costs in understanding Why tuition have soared the questions that Ollen count most Are whal is our compel Ilion doing what does our tuition say about our image and what will the Market Bear Promise Rie More expensive we gel the More popular we Are crowed a press release irom Bowdoin College of Brunswick Maine which stated Hal freshman applications were up 31 percent despite student fee increases of 32 percent Over the last Lour years. Coincidence in continued. Probably. Oversimplification certainly. Bui at a time when Bennell contradict Rily Calls Lor an increase in Quality and an end to tuition increases those figures May say something Aboul what s going on Oul there. And thai is simply thai the american Public cares about Quality and is willing to pay for in even logo into debt for in whatever the reasons for the continued surge intuitions the verdict remains with the consumer All sides agree. If students and parents continue to equate lop tuition with top Quality As Bowdoin and other colleges attest tuition will continue upward Bui if College coals Roach the Point where slide nos Start serious questioning the Elahve world of higher education. Students May examine their options like less costly Public colleges or even no College at All. 13,19b7 the stars and stripes Page 15