BA of general studies?

JHS
Tue, 23 Mar 2010 12:18:44 +0000

mildred (and others): You really ought to read what the OP wrote before lecturing her like that, and perhaps learn a little more as well. Earning a BGS (not a BA in General Studies, although I doubt it matters) will require the OP to take what looks like at least a full additional year of college beyond what she would otherwise need, if she’s lucky, and if she chooses her courses based solely on what will get her eligible for a degree fastest vs. what might actually make sense. Taking that tack would essentially void most of the credits she has earned this year in the field that actually interests her, since they would no longer be counted towards her degree. That’s a pretty severe economic AND educational waste, and it doesn’t make me feel all that sympathetic towards the University of Michigan’s position.

Anyone who has read my posts in any thread about language instruction knows that I am a huge fan of foreign language requirements in general. Personally I speak several and read those and a bunch more; it is a big part of my life. I don’t understand Michigan’s position here either, though. (Granted, the OP may not be presenting it fairly.) I don’t understand a four-semester FL requirement that can be avoided with a 600 on an SAT II, which represents a whole lot less than mastery unless the FL SAT IIs have been significantly stiffened in the past few years. I don’t understand why the OP was given no credit at all for her three or four semesters of CC Spanish. I don’t understand the policy of no accommodations on language tests. Most of all, I don’t understand why anyone would want to deny the OP the BA degree she has substantially completed already when she has gone along with and gotten the educational benefit of the FL requirement, but has medical issues that have prevented her, repeatedly, from successfully completing some (not all) of the course elements. She’s not trying to avoid the requirement; she’s spent three years trying to comply with it in good faith.

I agree that a BGS track WOULD have been attractive at some point in the past, BEFORE the OP spent time and a lot of money taking courses that moved her towards a different degree, and that will not count or be required to earn her a BGS degree. It’s a little cruel to say, now, oh you should have done that back then.