I'd Like to Submit the Following Comments On

Dave,

I'd like to submit the following comments on:

Senate Referral GE-005-089: Use Completion of Basic Military Training toward Satisfaction of Area E

There are very few senate referrals that ever raise my hackles, but this is one that I find particularly disturbing. By allowing a select group of students to substitute a non-academic "life experience" for required coursework, we will simultaneously degrade the education and degree we offer those students, discriminate against other students, and undermine the academic integrity of Cal Poly Pomona. This referral is a bad idea that puts us on a slippery slope that erodes the value of the education and degrees we offer.

I whole-heartedly agree that we should be a veteran friendly campus, and do all we can to facilitate the education and graduation of military veterans. Our society and university has an obligation to help veterans achieve a university education, earn a degree, and make the transition from military to civilian life. There are many ways to do this, such as establishing special financial aid programs, a veteran's center on campus, and counseling and peer mentoring services.

I also agree, based on my own classroom experience with veteran students, that they are typically exemplary students and are a positive influence on the learning environment and their classmates. But, this should not be used as an excuse to grant them preferential treatment when it comes to meeting academic degree requirements.

I think that it is a serious mistake to grant one group of students the exclusive right to substitute a "life experience" for an academic requirement. We are an accredited public university, and we have established our degree requirements through accepted academic practices for a specific reason - to provide students with a high-quality education and a respected academic degree based on vetted university coursework.

Allowing some students to substitute non-academic "life experiences" for the GE Area E requirement puts us on a slippery slope. Why then should we not allow other students to meet this requirement with other types of related activities/experience? For example, there are many other groups that receive rigorous and substantial training/experiential learning on par with the military, such as law enforcement, emergency responders, Peace Corps, Outward Bound, collegiate and professional athletes, clergy, community activists, and leaders of school, church, and community groups/organizations.

And, what about other substantial life experiences gained through non-organized activities that mesh with GE Area E, such as parenthood, living abroad, home ownership, homelessness, poverty, prison, disability, disease, and victimization from crime, discrimination, accident, disaster, or war. These are all substantial life experiences that meet the spirit of GE Area E by promoting "lifelong understanding and self development", but which do not involve university coursework.

Approving this referral would also threaten to unravel all of the hard work we have done to develop the GE Area E First Year Experience courses. It seems to me that veterans entering the university are exactly the kind of students who would benefit most from the First Year Experience courses by being introduced to and immersed in the culture of their chosen academic discipline. If we grant this group special privilege to bow out of the Area E courses, then we have to open this option up (and advertise it!!) to all students for all appropriate "life experiences". This will undermine the whole purpose of the First Year Experience courses and of GE Area E in general.

I think our approach has to be "All or Nothing". If we want to remove academic standards from GE Area E, then we shouldn't discriminate, and we should open this up to include all life experiences and activities that engender "lifelong understanding and self development". Otherwise, we should uphold our academic standards and restrict this requirement only to university coursework for ALL STUDENTS!

I can't support this referral and will vote against it.

Thanks,

Jeff Marshall

Senator, College of Science