Embrace well-rounded education

The UW is overcrowded. Really? Hadn't noticed. In response to this overcrowding, administrators and legislators are considering penalizing students who acquire credits over a certain amount. Currently, students with 210 credits and no diploma are required to meet with an adviser to create a graduation plan, but the decision-makers are now debating whether or not to place an extra fee on credits past 225.

These policies hurt not only students, but the University as a whole. The goal is to get students to finish as quickly as possible so we can free up more resources and teach more students. However, these policies are based on the misguided assumption that credits equate to time spent at the UW.

Many students come to college with credits already, but these credits often are not applicable to the student's chosen major and end up being nothing more than general credits, which uselessly add to a student's total credit.

Credit limits hurt hard-working students. Students who decide to double major are left wondering whether or not they can complete both majors and still stay under the limit. A background in multiple disciplines is an important way for college graduates to gain an advantage over other job applicants in an increasingly competitive job market. Is the UW supposed to be an assembly line or a school that produces competitive graduates? We can't be both.

Studying abroad is another enriching experience damaged by credit-limit policies. Study-abroad programs rarely offer the exact classes required for graduation. Why should we punish students who study abroad? Are they taking away someone's seat in class? No, but credit-limit policies treat them as such.

There are better ways to get students through the UW in a timely fashion than credit limits. Graduation requirements are often confusing and difficult to understand. Proactive advising that targets incoming students -- unlike credit limits, which wait until it is too late -- could go a long way toward ensuring students graduate on time.

The Freshman Interest Group program could be utilized to make sure incoming freshmen understand graduation requirements. Because certain classes required to graduate are only offered during certain quarters, advising would also help make sure students know when these classes are offered and help them plan accordingly. I'm not trying to say advisers are lazy by any means, but I am saying that resources used to enforce credit limits would be better spent on increased advising opportunities.

If the goal of this university is to process students with an assembly-line mentality, then credit limits are the way to go. However, if the goal of this university is to produce well-educated, competitive graduates and promote a hard-working ethos on campus, then we should look to a policy that caters to individual students and guides them down their path in the most efficient manner for them.