Food for thought

Having been in a college enviornment for about three years, I've come to find that, on occasion, classes and their credit hours have little to do with each other.

Take into consideration, for example, this class- Writing for the Mass Media. It's a Monday, Wednesday, Friday class, 50 minutes a day. That's 150 minutes a week, three credit hours. Makes sense; time is crucial with each class period, so I feel we're getting our three credit hours' worth. On the other hand, however, Master Chorale meets twice a week (Mondays and Wednesdays) for two hours, 240 minutes a week, and the class is only ONE credit hour.

You may think "OK, well, it's an elective, it should be worth less." That's fine and I agree to an extent. Although I am not a music major, I still have to work at completing my degree plan in order to graduate. Master Chorale is still a heavy-thinking class and unlike any other class where a mediochre performance is acceptable, here you either get it or you don't.

So why get less than half the amount of credits for a class that is more high stress for a longer amount of time? I am in no way saying my this or my other classes are too easy, I am just stating that in my opinion, students in similar situations should at least get one more credit for such intense courses. By such a class being "rated" with one credit hour, UTB is saying "These classes aren't as worth your time as these other ones" in a way.