As we greet the class of 2000, I have been considering these questions and ERC's response to them. For several decades, U.S. colleges and universities have expected students to complete courses distributed roughly in thirds among GE, electives, and major requirements. ERC's breadth requirements are consistent with that pattern. Like many other universities, we carefully distinguish between the major and general education. They develop separate and different dimensions in the well-educated college graduate and global citizen.
General education is the foundation that graduates of a college have in common.
University faculty design and approve the GE requirements in the colleges. The major, which students choose and may partially tailor to their individual interests, provides the background for long-term career goals. Each academic department sets the requirements for the majors it offers. The general education curriculum at ERC reflects our faculty's expectation that, while establishing a shared intellectual foundation, GE courses should also meet some practical needs. They are an early educational investment with dividends that begin to accrue in the University and continue in graduate school and the marketplace after graduation.