EDITORIAL: OPTIONS

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Students would benefit from redefinition of coherent minors.

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Academically, Rice prides itself on offering a variety of choices. Students can easily double major, study abroad or create an area major. The one option strangely missing is a real system of minors.

The coherent minor options provide only a limited selection and often are too restrictive to truly offer the benefits of a traditional minor. With Rice's coherent minor system, students are not allowed to concentrate upon a different department within their academic group: A Group I major is not allowed to minor in a different Group I subject. While the coherent minor system on the surface encourages academic diversity, it can prove itself to be very limiting.

Most schools offer minors which in a way reflect their list of majors. Each department offers one of two options of minors, one usually the same as the major except with fewer credit hour requirements and perhaps another which offers more specialization than a major could.

By not offering a system of real minors, Rice limits the student body. Unless a student picks a major and begins filling requirements early, the possibility of double majoring quickly disappears. With minors, that student could, in his junior or senior year, perhaps pick up a minor and still graduate with a more refined transcript than a single major degree would provide.

If Rice really wants to stand out as a student-oriented university, it has to address the limitations of coherent minors and begin examining a true system of minors.

This item appeared in the Opinion section of the February 2, 1996 issue.

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