Have you ever wondered about the required courses in college? Have you asked yourself or others why you need to take specific courses? Perhaps even expressed frustration at all the “extra” requirements beyond your major? If so, you are far from alone. Many students are confused by general education courses. But this book is designed to help!

Why Do I Have to Take This Course? developed out of many years of thinking about general education courses and curriculums. We, as university personnel, do not always do the best job of explaining why we have certain requirements. Even though these courses make up a significant percentage of our college careers, there is not often time set aside to talk about general education and explore its purpose and goals. I started out creating spaces in individual courses to address the question – sometimes spoken and sometimes unspoken – of the significance of my courses, many of which are mostly filled with students taking them for general education credit. When we do not know the reason why we are doing something, it can sometimes lead to apathy and even resentment. Once we have an idea of the purpose, then we can start to appreciate and learn. I found that it was worthwhile to spend some time thinking about these purposes, both “official” and personal ones, as students were more willing to engage with the rest of the course once we had these discussions.

From these experiences, I began to think: what about the rest of the curriculum? This book is intended as a resource for starting these conversations across campus.

Why Do I Have to Take This Course? is divided into four main sections:

• What is general education? Chapter 1 explains the history of general education as well as how curriculums get designed.
• Why general education? Chapter 2 discusses the overarching purposes of general education programs.
• What will I learn? Chapters 3-6 break down general education learning, discussing some of the reasons why that learning is significant and providing food for further thought.
• What about after graduation? Chapter 7 gives a brief look at how general education can be essential beyond college.

Fellow Instructors and Advisors

For instructors who wish to adopt this book, please note that it is designed to assign in its entirety or, more likely, in parts. If you are teaching a course with certain learning outcomes, feel free to focus only on those sections of the book with your students. Consider also using this book with your advisees, especially if they express concerns over taking certain requirements.