For the last year I have been under the impression that I would be able to graduate by the end of next semester, and I worked my schedule out accordingly.
I wasn’t aware until registration for next semester opened up this semester that the public relations capstone is only offered in the spring, meaning that I would be here at BGSU an additional semester than I had additionally thought —until May 2014.
I accept the fault for this oversight. It’s not a new policy and the information is out there if I had thought to look for it, but I didn’t.
So, at this point I only have four more classes to take to complete my journalism degree, which leaves me with four more classes to fill if I want to stay a full-time student.
After some figuring I also realized that I am only four classes short of having a bachelors in political science as well, so I figured with my unexpected semester I would change my minor into a double major, and finish my time here with two degrees instead of one. The proverbial lemonade made from lemons given.
I was told that because one of the degrees is a B.A. and the other is a B.S.J., I would need a separate minor for each major, and that one major could not count as the other one’s minor. Even though a journalism degree on its own can have a poli-sci minor, and a poli-sci major on its own can have a journalism minor.
This makes no sense to me and I see no just rationalization for it other than to milk students that wish to do better for more money for more classes.
If you look at the spirit of the minor requirement (the reason for it being put in place in the first place), it must have been so that students end their colligate careers with a deeper breadth of knowledge than to have only been educated in their major of study. Two major subjects satisfies that purpose.
I sent a letter to the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences asking if the two majors could absolve each other of the minor requirement and was told, “because we [would be] awarding two degrees, we do require that those degrees be earned with discrete coursework. If it were a double major situation, then a student can substitute the second major for the minor.”
This just seems unfair to me. If each of these areas of study will serve as the other’s minor on its own, then someone doing so much more of the minor coursework as to constitute having fulfilled the requirements of a major in that category should be rewarded, not unacknowledged simply because they are two separate degrees so closely related they are in the same college.
After pointing this out, the next response I got was that “Since minor requirements are subset of major requirements, then all majors have their minors built into them… If we allowed double-counting between major and minor, by virtue of completing the Sociology major, a student would also be able to declare a Sociology minor.”
While I appreciate getting a response at all (after resending my original email twice more), this is nothing more than a once worth answer. Of course you shouldn’t be able to count one subject as both major and minor on the same degree, and I’m certainly not suggesting that.
I am planning, on using some of my newfound free time next semester to go to USG and ask them to consider a resolution recommending to the University that a rule be put in place saying a multiple major would negate the minor requirements for both degrees.
Join me by letting USG and the administration know that curriculum is important to you, and that two majors should equal no minors.
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