Find the English brick road

Cartoon by Marc Dionne

For those that seek an associate’s degree in English, Pierce College is not the right fit.

According to the Pierce website, there are over 80 subjects in which students can receive certificates, degrees and degrees for transfer in. While the college offers a certificate in specialty Automotive Service Technology, it does not offer a simple associate’s degree in English.

Though Pierce includes an English degree for transfer, is it the same? After completing two years of course work, some students would rather see their chosen field on their degree instead of a generic “Social and Behavioral Sciences.” Also, students who do not plan to transfer, want to start their professional careers, displaying a degree that shows off what they studied and wish to work on.

While interviewing for a job after finishing college, a student who has an associate’s degree may be the chosen candidate over more the student who has an associate’s degree for transfer. By having a transfer degree, it insinuates that the student will return to school and may not intend to work full-time or long-term.

Recently, Pierce held Senior Day, where high school students were invited to come to the campus and learn about degrees offered, meeting students and professors in those fields.

Administration and counselors can begin to find out what majors incoming students would like to study by taking surveys from different high schools and holding degree fairs.

Currently, Pierce offers all the classes that are required for an associate’s degree in English, so why is there not one offered?  If Pierce’s admissions department understood how many incoming students seek a degree in English, they could start the process of adding one.

While students may be able to transfer to a four year university that offers a bachelor’s degree in  English, it doesn’t create the college experience for those that wish to study English in their undergrad.

For students that invest hours in courses like creative writing, or being a part of Pierce’s literary magazine, Directions, having to report that they are an undecided major can dampen self-esteem and their educational process, as it undermines the work that they have invested in an area of study.

In this instance, what happens to the students who were enrolled in an English major, or dreamed their way through high school about studying English?

Pierce, in part with ASO, can begin to organize like minded students who wish to study the same degree, whether or not it is offered at Pierce.

Students also can petition and collect data for the amount of students who would sign up for the English associate’s degree if it was offered at Pierce. Finding these numbers could aid to the enrollment of students.

College is supposed to be a place where young minds can find themselves through creativity and studying what they want to learn.

By not offering common degrees, such as English, it disallows students the freedoms of education and does not make the college experience whole.