Timeline for Is it reasonable to request an exemption from certain degree requirements?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
12 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Aug 18, 2015 at 14:28 | comment | added | Anonymous | I will just chime in to say that if a student said "I'd really like to take Y, but X is required for my degree, I can't take both, and I'd prefer to take Y. Is there any way this is possible?" I'd respond favorably, even if the answer was no. If a student said "I have to take X and it looks boring, can I get out of it", then I'd only be sympathetic if the student was already an expert in X. | |
| Aug 18, 2015 at 13:29 | comment | added | aparente001 | @O.R.Mapper - If you have a critique or question relating to the approach I described, that might make an interesting question on some SE site. But basically I'm just trying to point to a cultural trend in the U.S. (forgive me if my assumption that you work in academia elsewhere than the U.S. is incorrect). | |
| Aug 18, 2015 at 13:25 | comment | added | O. R. Mapper | @aparente001: Well, either, there are certain requirements that have to be fulfilled, in which case the resulting degree certifies that these requirements were met. Or, there are no specific requirements to be fulfilled, in which case the resulting degree certifies that ... hmm ... something was done at a university. | |
| Aug 18, 2015 at 12:59 | comment | added | aparente001 | @O.R.Mapper - When you wrote "which seems to make the resulting degrees quite meaningless" I hope you meant "which could easily make the resulting degrees meaningless." Otherwise, I think you would have linked to a scathing critique of the movement I described, or the institution I mentioned. | |
| Aug 18, 2015 at 7:55 | comment | added | O. R. Mapper | @aparente001: In a well-designed curriculum, these restrictions are not arbitrary hurdles to complicate a random selection of courses, but rather, they are a carefully balanced framework to ensure that with all the choice and freedom of decision students have about their curricula, students will still touch upon all the aspects their degree is meant to certify. Without such restrictions, many students would simply choose what they like and skip everything they do not like, which seems to make the resulting degrees quite meaningless. | |
| Aug 17, 2015 at 12:43 | comment | added | aparente001 | In the United States, at least, there is a movement toward putting the student in the driver's seat. This movement has been around for more than a generation. At the extreme end, there are colleges where there are no set degree programs, and each student creates his own degree program -- e.g. Hampshire College. | |
| Aug 17, 2015 at 12:40 | comment | added | aparente001 | @O.R.Mapper - Okay, I'll take it the "interesting" in your comment was a euphemism for "weird." I'm glad I asked! | |
| Aug 17, 2015 at 6:42 | comment | added | O. R. Mapper | ... around the fixed requirements or get a permission for a custom modification thereof who quickly build a (very negative!) reputation among faculty for creating a lot of hassle, being hard to work with (as their first reaction to a given problem will not be analyzing and solving the problem, but trying to renegotiate the organisational framework the problem is embedded within), and (often unreasonably) thinking they deserve a special treatment compared to most of the other students. Thus, "taking the initiative for ..." is a rather favourable interpretation of this behaviour. | |
| Aug 17, 2015 at 6:40 | comment | added | O. R. Mapper | @aparente001: True, I meant something like "unexpected, not necessarily matching my personal interpretation". My impression is that the (fictitious numbers for the sake of argument) 95% students in a major who stick to the available options (which, mind you, are usually already defined with considerable leeway for variation) are fine, and the 1% that truly have any specific restrictions that require a deviation from those available options are ok, too, and so few as to be negligible, anyway. It is just the remaining 4% who think they need to actively start searching for reasons to get ... | |
| Aug 17, 2015 at 3:48 | comment | added | aparente001 | @O.R.Mapper - I'm not sure what you mean by interesting. That word can have a couple of completely different meanings. | |
| Aug 16, 2015 at 14:15 | comment | added | O. R. Mapper | "faculty typically appreciate it when students take the initiative for their own education" - that is an interesting point of view with respect to requesting exemptions from requirements. | |
| Aug 16, 2015 at 14:03 | history | answered | Anonymous | CC BY-SA 3.0 |