The new year has brought upon more than just new semesters for Weber State University; it’s brought on changes to several of the general education requirements as well.
The changes include the need for fewer general education credits and a lower passing grade. In the past, a C grade was considered passing, but it has now been lowered to a D- grade.
In December 2023, a policy known as R470 made a characteristic revision, brought about by a performance audit in October 2022 that called out problems and difficulties with transferring universities as a student.
When it became clear that transferring was difficult because of the various differences in requirements between institutions, whether it be the number of credits required or passing grades, the General Education Task Force was tasked with cleaning up the requirements.
Where 37 general education credits used to be required, the revisions to R470 lowered that by 10 credits. Starting in summer 2025, only 27 general education credits will be required. Despite the changes in general education credits, the same number of credits is required for graduation: 60 for an associate degree and 120 for a bachelor’s degree.
Within general education courses are core and breadth classes, and in the past, a C was required to pass those classes. The changes have lowered that passing grade to a D-.
Although the main goal of the changes in requirements was to ease transfer for students, many Weber students see the revisions as much more than just that.
Declan Wilhelmsen, a WSU freshman studying cyber security, believes that although the changes may come with a certain set of challenges, there are undeniable pros.
“A good plus is that I have to take less classes, which is less money. So, students that are taking student loans or are paying for their own college are being benefited,” Wilhelmsen said.
Wilhelmsen is far from the only student to share that mindset. Makaylee Hitt, a Weber freshman studying radiography, finds the number of required general education courses to be tedious.
“I don’t have all the money to spend, so if I can be here for a shorter time, that’s better,” Hitt said.
Some students like America Cuevas, a WSU Junior, are grateful for the changes simply because it’s a weight off their shoulders.
“I feel like it makes things a little bit more easier and makes generals not so much of a hassle and more like a choice for students if they want to relearn something if it’s for their major or something they enjoy,” Cuevas said.
Although some students worry that the new passing grade changes will affect the integrity of the university, not everyone shares that concern.
“Just for general classes, it’s like you’re just there to take the general and get a little bit more education. But if the grade minimum was changing for your major-specific classes, that would affect the integrity of the university,” Lily Sarafin, WSU freshman, said.
Some individuals even harbor concern for the professors teaching general education courses.
“I think now, general education teachers might have a harder time with participation because it’s only a D-. There’s going to be no participation and students not wanting to show up,” Wilhemsen said.
Despite changes in passing grades, a 2.0 grade point average is still required to receive financial aid and a degree. The lowering of the passing grade was only done to give students a little wiggle room and ease transfer between universities.
Like Wilhelmsen, WSU junior Miranda Houston is among the individuals who are able to see both the positives and the negatives of these changes.
“I’m kind of split on it. It’s nice for students that are transferring because I know that that was a big issue with the credits transferring,” Houston said. “But I also think that it’s more or less an excuse to just get a passing grade so they can get out of the general education courses. I don’t think that’s actually effectively helping students learn.”
Like Houston, Science Librarian Miranda Kispert shares the same harboring of pros and cons to the revisions.
“I think it’s a mixed bag. I think that the call to make transfer more seamless within the state and to hold students harmless in those moments was absolutely necessary, and the changes to make that happen are good,” Kispert said. “On top of that, I do wish that we had seen a clearer way to develop an institutional area for Weber State that would really speak to and engage and support our students throughout their career at Weber State.”
Despite the various concerns that students and professors are carrying on the topic, Leigh Shaw, the Director of General Education and member of the Utah System of Higher Education General Education council, believes that these changes are for the good.
“I think these are very positive changes for students,” Shaw said. “I think that it will facilitate students’ ability to complete general education in an efficient manner here or at any USHE institution. If they choose to transfer, it’s really not going to be as potentially detrimental as it was before.”
Although students and faculty stand divided with the passing of these changes, Kispert believes that they may not be set in stone.
“I think that they will probably evolve a bit going forward because everything does,” Kispert said. “We’re in the very baby stages of this new landscape, and so it’s likely that we will see things that don’t work the way we expected them to and make updates as a body within USHE, not just Weber State.”
As students navigate these new general education requirements, Shaw urges them to meet with an advisor to ensure that they are taking the courses needed for their pathway.
Jennifer Arnold • Jan 14, 2025 at 8:36 am
One additional note for students who receive Federal Financial Aid (Pell and Student Loans), the Federal Aid requirement still requires that students complete at least 67% of their courses each semester and maintain a semester and overall GPA above 2.0.
Additionally, if a student has a scholarship, they should know what is required to maintain their scholarship, as each scholarship is set up with slightly different requirements, depending on how the donor has set up their fund.
Jenn Arnold ~~WSU Financial Aid & Scholarship Office