At the end of the previous semester I wrote an opinion piece about the change in credits.
I discussed the resistance to the credit change, and the way it has changed my “plan” for college.
Now that we’re in our third going on to fourth week of classes, I’ve gotten to see how this credit change is affecting my final year of college.
Many professors in my department were against taking on a strict three credit formatting for classes, and many have yet to adjust their syllabus to accommodate for less time.
During syllabus week, some of my professors started off with admitting that they are trying to fit a four credit course amount of material into a three credit time slot.
In one of my classes, course material keeps getting pushed back, while trying to stay on track with students’ material presentations.
This is understandably frustrating because when the end of class comes around, we haven’t covered the amount of material scheduled for the class, and it seems like I am not learning anywhere near as much information as I was last semester.
While walking through the halls or just after class, for the first two weeks, my peers that had attended Fort Lewis College before the credit change agree that the shortened class times make the courses seem rushed.
On top of cramming four credits worth of material into three credit classes, students at FLC with scholarships that require a certain amount of credits must take more classes.
I, for example, have to maintain at least 15 credits for a scholarship. Previously, I was able to take four classes and meet this requirement.
Now, with three credits, I have to take five classes, all of which are trying to teach four credits worth of material.
And as mentioned in my previous opinion piece, I’m not allowed to take the Independent for credits this year.
So, as you can imagine, my last year at FLC will be one full of adjusting and frustration. Not just for students trying to get all of their work for five plus classes done, but professors as well; trying to make their four credit syllabus fit into a three credit class.