The UPEI Sun, 26, 1981, page 4 ‘ Eyer since the late 60's-early 70's era, the enrolment boom in universities has declined. \The last of. the post—war baby boom are oonpleting their education, and unenployment figures have increased, causing note students to seek job training in com— .nunity mlleges and trade schools. Universities, therefore, are struggling to retain at the level ' of- operation of just seven or eight years ago and UPEI is certainly no exception. Faculty Irenbers have been ingenious in their schenes devised to _ keep UPEI open. .T'ne Departnent of Business Admin— istration succeeded in a daring escape from under the wing of'the Faculty of Arts and gained the prestigious name of School of Business Administra— - tion. The reverse was about. to happen to the Faculty of Education, but a classic case of"if \ you acratch my bad<, I'll scratch yours" beCame evident during the vote on Business, and any ‘ further mention of a change in status for Education ceased. Now appearing on Senate's agenda is the latest scheme in the "How to keep a university alive" series: The Academic Flaming Oomnittee (APC) has before senate a recommendation that a core cirricilum be established at UPEI. The AFC proposes that to graduate in future years each student will have to take two courses each of : Mathematics, Humanities, Social Sciences, mglish,and Science.‘ ‘In many- Ways this is the nest ridiculous scheme yet cooked up by Senate muttees. A are curriculun will lead students to a lower average and encourage them to take "bird" courses, not to nention the tine and ' Honey wasted by those who have serious diffic- ulties in a specific area. _ _ ' Mien examining the question in a positive light, the oonpulsory study of two courses from each subject area will increase enrollnent in some of the sneller classes, 'therby offering greater job security to professors. [In a can- plete aside, and perhaps matérial‘for another editorial, it is astounding to imagine that professors at UPEI could ever consider voting them- selves a raise of up to 25%. (this would have set the annual salary for a full-fledged professor close ’ to 52,000), when it means sone of them may be fired because there is not enough noney to ’pay. them. With tuition steadily increasing, arployn'ent - figures dmn,-c1ts in government funding, and the , post—war baby boom petered out, UPEI cannot afford to have given professors a raise. (m the other - handrhowever, it has seen fit to iall fund a seven million dollar sports oonplex. Remerber how we got stuck with the bill for the Planetarium? With the establishment of a core cirricilum, however, the university will probably find it necesssary to set up a two-tier system of . courses. mre students of varying mental“ capabilities will be taking Mathematics for example. _ Introductory courses, therefore, will have to be divided into general and advanced classes 'for' those smdents who intend to be Math majors. Needless to say,- this systanwillbe an addedexpense for the university. Professors may have to teach extra courses because the President has it in his mind not to hire any new professors. . Worse. yet, the umber of courses available to ‘fourth year majors willbeparedtoabareminimnnsothatextra fiat md year courses may be taught, similar to the actions of the Political Sc‘ienoeiDepartnent this year. - . ' There can be no dispute that core courses provide a good all—mmd education. Writing in Maclean's magazine almost two years ago,» Dr. David Suzuki, a genetics specialist who may primarily known for introdL‘Icing the Canadian public to both the wonders and the horrendous consequences of science, blamed our education "system for dividing Western society into two segments; V scientists and humanists. Each group is quite ignorant of the other's importance. Suzuki was 3"“ “‘ "‘ ‘ " \J'fivaaas 7.; "Fa": .ru‘... 3.7!. Editorial annoyed that those responsible for developing the weapons. which may eventually destroy often know very little of philosophy mdreligion; mawareoftheinportanceaxxieffectofscience . in today's world. Ideally, a core curriculum for. the intellectualsofsocietyistlxebestway" ' meanwhile, the other section 'of society-is. blissfully : togainageneralkrmledgeofotherdisciplinesx.” sotliatwenaymrktwardabettermuhr- standingofeachother. ,. mueotherhand,however,oneorm _ courses in physics will} not necessarily give thestudentaninstantadarenessofuxe vastness of science. Many will grow to hate _ classes that are mandatory because they often may not conprehend the subject: taught. .A good umber of our professors will have to sinplify their _ teaching met-rods so that students in general courses will be able to mflerstand the sxbject material. Since nost people are not capable of understanding all disciplines equally, a cere curriculum will lower a student's marks in sqte courses. "Ibis is-a hazard that many wish toavoid, because low marks do mtguarantee a job. Unfortunately, if a core carriwlum were to be established at UPEI, a good nunber of students would enroll in "bird" courses, solely to maintain av high average. . » ; ' Another draback to the schane Of a core . carriculum becoues evident upon examining the plight of those studentsth wish to specialize- in scare area within their major. “mose straying Accounting, for example, may have to spend an extra year at University in order to conplete all . the Because the cost of another ‘ yearn'aybetoogreatawrdentobear, many students will be forced away to-other universities. . Mast inportantly, however, a core citriculun wuzldcurbthe freedomOf choosing courses that sttflents fought so hard It should be the duty of high schools to provide a good general background of most disciplines, and to instill a curiosity for all knowledge. Ideally, marks are irrelevant in the pursuit- of a general education, so taht by the time people reach university, they should surely realize the personal benefits of a ' diversity in studies. . , Ultimately, the APC'S decision to establish a core. program for university students rmrts. It means they have no faitth in our ability to decide what is best for your own personal growth and - understanding of teh world we live in. ,It also neans that the responsibility for our future will once again rest on the generalization that now i has pollutedour environment and threatened our total annihilation with nuclear energy. .But perfepstheyaretellingustobeconeawareoftte sonetimes disastrous consequences of..‘man‘s actions before it is too late to correct what we have done. Have a fm‘myweek andbe strong. -