An Unrealistic Proposal

UCF’s graduate enrollment, as measured by the only thing that matters – student credit hours, continues to decline at UCF. Right now, there are a few academic entrepreneurs who are sitting in their comfortable offices with their solitaire-playing secretaries nearby wondering how it all went wrong. By applying the corporate model, these strategic thinkers implemented strategies such as eliminating a thesis requirement and lowering graduate admission standards that should have increased demand for a UCF graduate education. It didn’t work.

What is the next move? Create more online only graduate degrees? Make the GRE optional? Make the doctoral dissertation optional?

Or…just throwing this out there. How about a paradigm shift where UCF goes back to rigorous academics at the graduate level? Classes will be tough and not everyone will make it through (for evidence of graduate grade inflation, see this post). All graduates will have to make an original contribution (e.g., a thesis) to the field.

Who knows? Maybe implementing challenging graduate programs will attract more students. Throwing away academic integrity doesn’t seem to be working.