Petition to the Administration and Faculty

It is our intent as the SCC Student Body Association that this petition serve to inform the SCC Faculty and Administration that the Student Body requests the College address the following item of business:

REMOVING THE P.E. REQUIREMENT FROM THE 

CORE DEGREE REQUIREMENTS

As the Student Body, we believe that all classes offered at Shoreline Community College are valuable. Some of the courses offered at SCC are not offered anywhere in the surrounding area. However, the General Education Requirements are not evaluated on whether or not the Student Body finds them worthwhile, but rather, how they enhance the “basic, foundational set of skills and abilities considered critical to student success.1”

To determine whether or not the Core Degree Requirements are meeting their goals, a General Education Committee must convene and assess the curriculum using the General Education Outcomes. These were encouraged by the Accreditation Team who praised the school in 2001 for our work developing clear outcomes and goals.

• General Education Outcomes
  
• Communication
  
• Quantitative Reasoning
  
• Information Literacy
  
• General Intellectual Abilities
  
• Multicultural Understanding
  
• Global Awareness
  

Three of these outcomes also have Core Degree Requirements:2

• Communication
  
• Quantitative Reasoning
  
• Multicultural Understanding
  

The only Core Degree Requirement that does not have a specific General Education Outcome attached is the PE Requirement. 

The PE Outcome reads:
Demonstrate an awareness of the implications of sound health practices.

The Student Body would concur that this outcome would benefit students. However, the PE requirement differs from other Core Degree Requirements, in that there is no evaluative method to determine the success of the requirement’s implementation.

As a result, it is our intention to inform the Administration and Faculty that several classes have devolved into “an easy 4.0.” These courses do not serve the students.

That is not to say that students do not enjoy these courses. Students may also enjoy a course on “Cooking Healthy Meals.” The outcome might read:
Demonstrate an awareness of the impact of processed food and the benefit of eating wholesome, healthy meals on mental, emotional, and physical health.

Undoubtedly, an increasing number of Americans are overweight. Maybe this is because of unhealthy diets, such as the huge amount of corn we consume or the increased intake of fast food. Undoubtedly, every student would benefit from being presented with this information about diet and health in an organized, interactive fashion thus helping them to make life-long healthy choices. However, we do not require a course on Cooking Healthy Meals in our Core Degree Requirements. If someone were to suggest that we offer that course, they would be asked to assess how that course would enhance the General Education Outcomes. If they could not present that information, then their request would be denied.

Shoreline Students would like to know how the PE Requirement has been assessed.

Our goal is not to discourage healthy practices. The Student Body recognizes the importance of healthy dieting and physical activity. However, the Student Body also recognizes the importance of voting. We also recognize the importance of sound financial decision making practices. We also recognize the importance of creative expression. However, we do not force students to take courses leading to these practices. We encourage it. But ultimately, we allow students to make their own individual choices.

We are asking for choice. It is our belief that the PE Requirement should be removed from the Shoreline Community College General Education Requirements because it does not offer clear objectives, outcomes, or goals.

We would like the Faculty and Administration to know that the Student Body believes that a well-informed individual can, and will, make responsible decisions concerning their health. We encourage promoting healthy practices through clubs and activities on campus.

We feel that as adults, 

We have to the freedom to choose for ourselves.

Please sign this petition by sending your name and student number through email to nomorepecredit@yahoo.com

You have a right to petition and the information being collected is for verification purposes only.  If you prefer not to enter your information, you can take the poll on the page, but there it does not carry the same weight for our cause.