Along with the improvement to the budget, during a tough economy, over the past two years, the Baker University community is welcoming a new general education plan to be seen in a pilot program this fall.

As a liberal arts school, the general education courses are one of the most important parts of the education a student gets when he or she attends the university. The only concern is if Baker has the manpower to run the program.

Constant review and revision is necessary, but sometimes a little more than a revision is deserved.

Baker University has been able to develop a plan that will make the general education more appealing to prospective Baker students.

The new general education program will also create a better balance between core curriculum courses and general education courses.

While there are a number of critics who oppose the new program, it will help students in the long run.

A great stride made in the program is getting away from the well-know checklist style and switching to a core curriculum model. This will certainly reduce the number of required courses it will take for a Baker student to graduate in a timely basis.

By permitting courses to count for dual, or linked, credit, students have the opportunity to better focus on the courses they choose to take, rather than just getting it checked off their checklist.

This is a far more efficient program than the current general education program, and will allow students to have more control of how broad their education will be.

However, this will still include the balance a strong liberal arts education, such as the one Baker, offers.

The new program is not only great for incoming students, but it could prove better from a marketing standpoint when Baker representatives go out to high schools or junior college to recruit potential students. With the university looking for more consistent enrollment numbers, it may be easier for potential Baker students to understand why a liberal arts education is a great path to follow.

Some high school students look to college to focus on a particular area of study, which they plan on doing for the rest of their lives.

Giving these students less time to worry about general education courses and more time to focus on their major courses could bring more students to campus.

The new program vastly improves the liberal arts education Baker is known for. It will give further balance between focused learning of a student’s major.

And, at the same time, the new program provides a broad view of the world through dual credit courses.

It is exciting to see such a success come out of over half a decade of hard work and research.