Well, I guess you told me. I will go shrink back to my corner now. I'm simply not able to stand up to your verbal annihilation. Wow. What a contribution!
I finally had time to look up "IS degrees" and most (all?) of the results had nothing to do with Interdisciplinary Studies. Then, I searched for the full name and there were links to various universities explaining their programs or how graduates should explain what this major is on job interviews. I'm still confused though. For almost all other majors, the courses are selected for you with only a few electives. Are the mandatory courses the same at one university versus another? What percentage of the courses are electives? Before I use LSU as another example, I'd like to add that I think LSU is one of the better programs for the student athlete side of the big time football factories. Saban laid a foundation that Miles has continued and even brought to the next level. While I also think that the average LSU football player that spends 4-5 years under Miles can compare to a general LSU student, I think that there are many other football factories that are simply (intentionally) attempting to limit the student side of their player's responsibilities as much as possible or use their influence to get the players out of situations that would normally have more of a negative result if they were a general student. As for the LSU athletes graduation rate, that is part of my argument. I read an article a few months ago that stated the most difficult thing about Ivy League schools is being accepted. Once you're there, they will do everything to prevent you from dropping out ($$$$). It's kind of the same theory although obviously much different. I honestly can't recall any LSU (sorry to use as another example) returning or projected starters on the football team flunk out in the past five years. I'm not asking you to comment as I think (?) you may be affiliated with the university in some way. It also has made me wonder if you are defending LSU so much because of your job and possibly because of direct involvement in some of these topics. I heard an interview with a former Florida St. football player recently. He went there because his goal was to play in the NFL (which he did). Now that he's retired, he said it's difficult to find a job when an employer sees his general major that he was basically forced to take. He has no significant regrets about the process but is now pondering whether he should go back to school to help him get a real job. In his opinion (and mine), it should have been easier to get that education while he was playing football at FSU. Sorry about the gibberish comment and the grammar mistake. I was in the regular English classes for four years of a 5A public high school in south Louisiana.
It changes from school to school. Some colleges don't have as broad a choice of subjects as LSU. The point is to allow students who want a broad education to get one. It's not a "basket-weaving" degree which you seem to be suggesting. It is important to understand that students, not just athletes, have people in their college, even Junior Divisions and General Colleges, that also work to help students make grades, choose curricula, and monitor their progress. Athletes don't just report to coaches. They are also students with all the responsibilities of other students. I am sure athletic departments help athletes find courses and degree programs that they can succeed in. It's really not so devious as you suggest and there are a ton of check and balances that prevent a coach from simply skating a kid for four years in entry-level courses resulting in him having a 4th grade reading level. You can't get into LSU without a lot more academic background than that. The NCAA minimums for GPA and ACT/SAT test scores for scholarship athletes are higher than the student body at many schools, like Grambling. Yes, those schools have some issues finding players that can cut it academically and that is where most of the academic scandals happen. Not so much the big schools. The lights are too bright for much shenanigans involving academics. It is the same everywhere. LSU wants to keep its students and many programs and degree options are available to enable this. If an athlete is not cutting it in Chemistry, he can change his major to business or art, or physical education if he thinks he ca do better there. It is not scandal because every student can do the same thing and many do. The world needs coaches. It is not unusual for an student to study Physical Education, even if they call it Kinesiology. How would you know? You wont see it in the newspaper or in an LSU press release because it would be a violation of federal student privacy laws. But athletes still flunk out or lose their eligibility for dropping below full-time status. If you asked any insiders you would quickly find out that players do flunk out and get on academic probation. How many times have we had players who play all season and then find themselves suspended for a bowl game? Ever wonder why? Because grades come out before the bowl games. I'm not defending LSU from anything other than speculation that I think is inaccurate. I've been around here long enough to know how things work. I deal with people who are closer to the situation than I am. I do not profess to know everything, it's why I asked you if you know of something insidious to tell us. I just think some of your guesses are inaccurate. Many people try to put the blame for their misfortune on somebody else, but there is no slavery. Nobody can be forced to take courses that they don't want to take. Why would a coach force a player to drop mathematics if he really wanted to take it? Hell, coaches want players to take rigorous coursework if they can handle it. Many players and many regular students can't handle a tough curriculum but that is nobody's fault but their own. And most people with General Bachelors degrees have no trouble finding work or even getting into graduate school. A guy retired from the NFL and expecting to make $850,000 a year with a Bachelors degree in anything is dreaming. But if he's willing to take the $40-60K starting salaries that you can get with a Bachelors degree in anything, he can find work.
