How much of a say should students have in the curricular planning that goes on at colleges and universities?

There was an article in Butler’s Collegian newspaper back in April that talked about students’ reactions to possible changes in the “core curriculum.” Most colleges and universities have some group of classes that they consider “core,” meaning that they’re generally interdisciplinary and considered foundational to all other learning at that particular institution. These classes often include writing, rhetoric, public speaking, and a class or two that relate to the culture and history of that school.

My question for you is: what role should students have in changing the curriculum? My personal answer: little to none. Now that I’ve got your attention, don’t get me wrong, there is a place for student feedback, and it IS important. But that’s more about issues relating to HOW the course is taught, not WHAT is taught. The one exception I would mention is perceived relevance in courses that focus on current culture and society, because it can be easy for teachers to lose touch with what’s really current.

Student surveys are important for bringing to light concerns like those in a recent survey at Butler, where students said they didn’t know why they had to take a particular course, or were displeased with how understandable or enjoyable a certain teacher was. Those kinds of responses should lead to changes. The relevancy and importance of each course should always be communicated from the outset. That’s just a basic element of good teaching. And if a teacher is hard to understand or gives poor tests or can’t seem to explain things very well, that also needs to be known and corrected.

But the content of courses cannot be determined by students. That’s illogical and goes against the basic tenets of higher education. Even in a society that is so consumer driven. Teachers are supposed to be the subject experts and it should fall to the collected faculty of each school (abiding by any requirements of certifying boards or laws) to determine what content should be taught. Not micromanaging or saying HOW things should be taught (that really should be left up to the individual teacher), but they are the ones that should establish WHAT needs to be taught. Especially with a core curriculum. Who better to know what needs to be known before the higher courses are taken than the teachers of those higher courses?

Students may know what subjects they’re interested in or what professions they want to pursue, but that does not mean that they should determine what content or classes are being taught. So if a program revision is being considered, should students be consulted? Only in as much as it applies to the relevance and effectiveness of the teaching. I agree with one of the faculty members who was quoted in the article I read, who said:

“I think surveying alumni would work best, because this might be something that students hated while they were here, but 75 percent of them, 10 years down the road might say, ‘I’m so glad you made me take this.’
That counts for something.”