The meetings were held to discuss what other universities nation-wide have done to improve their Gen Ed courses and how UNH can make the same positive changes. As of now, Gen Ed courses are classes that are necessary for a UNH student to take in order to graduate. Students that enter college without a major often find a subject that they are interested in by taking Gen Ed courses. The Gen Ed course load is not easy, and often UNH students seem to have trouble with it. With all of the other courses and credits a student needs to graduate, sometimes Gen Eds are just one more thing to get out of the way.
Some courses do count towards more than one requirement.
Even so, the average student must take 40 credits worth of Gen Ed courses. The student body president, Craig Trimbur, explained how he felt about the subject by saying that, although his experience with the courses could be described as positive, he can see why students get upset. He added that after taking a history course to fulfill a Gen Ed requirement, he decided to minor in that subject. The decision was made in March of 1999 by the Faculty Senate that a committee was needed to overlook the Gen Ed courses. The Senate decided a group that consists of representatives from each college should examine the present courses and discuss potential changes that could improve the system.