What Will They Learn? 2018-2019. A Survey of Core Requirements at Our Nation's Colleges and Universities

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      American Council of Trustees and Alumni. 1726 M Street NW Suite 802, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 888-258-6648; Tel: 202-467-6787; Fax: 202-467-6784; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.goacta.org
    • Peer Reviewed:
      N
    • Source:
      135
    • Education Level:
      Higher Education
      Postsecondary Education
    • Subject Terms:
      Core Curriculum; College Curriculum; Liberal Arts; Public Colleges; Private Colleges; Writing (Composition); Literature; Second Languages; United States Government (Course); United States History; Economics Education; History Instruction; College Mathematics; College Science; Natural Sciences; Educational Quality; Required Courses; General Education
    • Subject Terms:
      United States
    • Abstract:
      Ten years ago, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) gathered data on 100 colleges from the U.S. News & World Report's annual list of "Best Colleges and Universities." ACTA questioned whether these elite institutions were requiring their students to take rigorous, college-level courses in the core areas crucial for success. The results of this survey were dismal--showing that students could bypass essential courses that cultivate critical thinking, logic, writing skills, and mathematics, and revealing that American colleges are often failing to provide a truly collegiate education. If students are not taking college-level courses in core subjects, then what courses are they taking, and more importantly, what are they learning? ACTA prepared this report, to answer this question, of great concern to students, parents, and employers. Other ranking systems pit schools against each other in an effort to rank schools from "best" to "worst." These rankings focus on external inputs, such as alumni giving and admission selection, rather than on what actually happens in the classroom. ACTA, however, believes each school should be evaluated based on its academic substance--what fundamental skills and knowledge does the institution require of its students? Since the first survey, ACTA has expanded the analysis to include over 1,100 colleges and universities in order to evaluate whether each individual school requires the essential areas of a liberal arts core curriculum. [For the 2017 report see ED581897.]
    • Abstract:
      ERIC
    • Publication Date:
      2019
    • Accession Number:
      ED592064