Texas A&M – Corpus Christi Among Top 17 in Country for Core Classes

Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi is among the top 17 higher education schools in the country in preparing undergraduates for the workforce, according to a website dedicated to analyzing college curriculum.

Whatwilltheylearn.com found A&M-Corpus Christi to be among the top 17 out of 700 universities and colleges in the nation in terms of the core classes offered. The website, a project of Washington, D.C.-based American Council of Trustees and Alumni, analyzed the schools based on the number of required core classes needed for an undergraduate degree.

The council, which works with college trustees and regents to develop core curriculum, looked at seven core class requirements to determine the A-list universities: English composition, literature, math, science, foreign language, U.S. history or government and economics.

The seven requirements are what the council says should be offered in core curriculum for undergraduates across the country to help prepare them for the workforce, said council senior researcher Michael Pomeranz.

“That’s a big deal,” he said.

If a university or college offered at least six of the seven course requirements in an undergraduate degree plan, the school made the site’s A list. A&M-Corpus Christi received a six out of seven, missing the best score because not all undergraduate degrees require foreign language credits. In all, 17 schools made the A list, including eight Texas schools.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi requires traditional core classes for undergraduates instead of offering substitutions like art in place of literature, said Paul Meyer, vice provost for academic affairs at the university.

He said also attributes the university making the list to the school’s integrated class requirements during a student’s freshman year, which includes learning communities where students studying for the same degree take core classes at the same time.

Faculty also work together to ensure traditional core curriculum.

Meyer said the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has been reviewing core curriculum for about two years, and state officials have said the board could renew recommendations this year.

The A-list

These 17 schools made the A list in core curriculum requirements for undergraduates.

Baylor University, Waco

City University of New York-Brooklyn College

East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tenn.

Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, Ga.

Lamar University, Beaumont

Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls

St. John’s College, Annapolis, Md.

St. John’s College, Santa Fe, N.M.

Tennessee State University, Nashville

Texas A&M University, College Station

Texas A&M University—Corpus Christi

Thomas Aquinas College, Santa Paula, Calif.

United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.

United States Military Academy, West Point, N.Y.

University of Arkansas—Fayetteville

University of Dallas

University of Texas

Source: American Council of Trustees and Alumni, Whatwilltheylearn.com