While I find that disappointing, I guess I don’t find it that surprising. I think over the last generation or so there has been a shift in mindset between college as a chance to explore and grow to college as your ticket to a middle-class (or better) profession. I would also postulate that this shift in mindset has coincided with the shift from a broad-based humanities education to the growing popularity of STEM (and the corresponding decline of the humanities that we’re seeing at many universities). College is seen as professional training and your major is a professional credential. Things that don’t support those goals are starting to be viewed as “fluff” rather than essential to becoming a well-rounded, reflective person.
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