This year, UW-Eau Claire was ranked as one of the best institutions in the Midwest.
According to a university press release, the 2011 edition of ‘America’s Best Colleges’ by U.S. News and World Report ranked the university 5th among regional public universities in the Midwest and 24th among all Midwestern institutions, both public and private.
However, this year the university was also the recipient of a rating far less flattering.
The American Council of Trustees and Alumni, a Washington, DC-based non-profit organization, gave the institution an ‘F’ in its academic standing, claiming that the university falls short in its general education requirements.
According to the ACTA website, the organization strongly believes that seven core subjects – composition, literature, foreign languages, U.S. history, economics, mathematics and science – should be required to ensure that “students are exposed to subject areas that they might otherwise pass up.”
The rating system is simple. If the ACTA believes a school makes an appropriate requirement of the subject, they get a point; if not, they receive a zero. Six or seven points gets an ‘A’, four or five a ‘B’, three a ‘C’, two a ‘D’, and one or less an ‘F.’
“We’re not necessarily saying that UW-Eau Claire is a bad school,” said David Azerrad, senior researcher at the ACTA.”We just believe the institution does a poor job at providing a coherent look at the core curriculum.”
In the review of Eau Claire, only science was seen as being adequately required for students.
“Universities have an element of responsibility,” Azerrad said of the matter. “The student is not the consumer.”
To Azerrad, “18-year-old freshmen” should not be allowed to solely choose what core subjects they study.
In the ever-globalizing market and shaky U.S. economy, students should be required to take a certain set of GE courses to prepare them on all levels, he said.
“It’s no way incompatible with choice; there are certain things that can’t be left up to that,” he said.
A quick glance at the ACTA courses shows that subjects like art, philosophy and music are not included.
“We’re not saying certain courses aren’t important,” Azerrad said. “We’re just looking at the real basics and fundamental subjects that everyone should be versed in.”
While the rating may seem like a slap in the face to Eau Claire, the ACTA was also critical of other Wisconsin schools: UW-Milwaukee received an ‘F’, UW-Madison scored a ‘D’ and both UW-LaCrosse and
UW-Oshkosh got ‘C’s.
Azerrad emphasized that the ratings are not meant to ridicule schools, but instead reiterate what the ACTA feels should be required.
UW-Eau Claire students, however, have a different view.
“I feel a lot of the GE’s I’ve taken so far have helped me become a better-rounded person,” said sophomore Sarah DeYoung of Eau Claire. “I mean, they weren’t all ‘business’-related, but they were definitely helpful with what I want to do. That’s what makes this liberal education so great.”
With both positive and negative ratings, UW-Eau Claire continues to take in a wide range of students, with over 3,900 entering for the upcoming year.
“We expect our citizens to be informed,” Azerrad said. The ratings should be used as a wake-up call, he said.
