THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, July 21, 1995 TAG: 9507210525
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
Education officials Thursday approved reducing graduation requirements at Virginia's community colleges, eliminating one to two courses for most students and saving them a couple hundred dollars.
The action by the State Board for Community Colleges, meeting in Richmond, is the most far-reaching step in higher education's push to reduce course requirements to cut costs. More than 108,000 students are pursuing degrees in the state's 23 community colleges.
``It simply means students can get through sooner,'' said Anne-Marie McCartan, vice chancellor for the community college system. ``We think it's going to improve our graduation rates, because you can get to graduation sooner. And you can be on the job market sooner. . . .
``For a part-time student,'' she added, ``that might be the equivalent of a year saved.''
McCartan said the reduction is the community colleges' biggest stab at restructuring - the effort to increase efficiency and better use money in higher education.
She said the system estimates it will save more than $2 million. That money will be used to educate new students, such as those who will attend the Tidewater Community College campus in Norfolk, which is set to open next year.
The move runs counter to demands to increase standards in public schools and colleges. But McCartan said the reduction - which could encompass subjects ranging from math to sociology - probably would not harm students' education.
Especially in the occupational areas, ``we worry about that,'' she said. McCartan said it's a tradeoff that will save students time and money. ``On the other hand, if they're graduating and don't have the foundation of skills and knowledge they need, we haven't done them much good.''
Robert Orr, a liberal arts student at the TCC campus in Virginia Beach, also raised concerns.
Cutting electives - or classes not related to the student's major - would be ``a good idea as far as saving money,'' Orr said. As for a class like math, ``I don't think that should be cut at all. I think that would hurt the individual student.''
Cheryl Terry, a business student, had fewer qualms. ``It's less time spent in college,'' she said. ``You could get into the work field a little sooner.''
The reduction will take effect by fall 1996. For liberal arts students who plan to transfer to a four-year school, credit hours required for graduation will drop from between 65 and 72 to between 60 and 63, depending on a student's major.
The switch isn't expected to affect transfer agreements with four-year schools, McCartan said.
Credit hours required for intermediate language would go down from 8 to 6, but McCartan said that would still meet the demands of four-year schools. In addition, some liberal arts areas would drop 3 hours in electives.
For most students in vocational fields, the requirement would drop to 65 to 69 hours. Now, McCartan said, some of those majors demand 75 hours. The specific cuts have not been determined, but she said a two-semester sequence of, say, technical math might be compressed into one semester.
Tuition is $46.65 per credit hour at all community colleges.
Several universities, including Old Dominion and Norfolk State, are working to reduce their requirements to 120 credit hours. Jo Ann Gora, the provost at ODU, said she expected all majors to be down to 120 hours by the fall.
``The state,'' she said, ``has been urging us to do this in order to be able to, ultimately, have more students graduate in a shorter period of time.''
At its meeting Thursday, the state board also approved a $1-per-credit-hour fee to raise money for new technology. That would add an extra $30 to the annual cost for a student carrying a full course load. The fee will take effect in the spring. by CNB