ABSTRACT
From this perspective, it appears that the CE graduate could be better prepared for professional practice. Civil engineering programs devote approximately 25% of the credit hours to nontechnical courses, which are often referred to as general education. These courses include topics such as history, the arts, anthropology, sociology, business, and language. Programs often fail to provide the guidance that would show students the importance of that part of the curriculum. Instead, students select a course based on what —ts with their schedule, ensures an easy A, is known to require little effort, or repeats material that they have had elsewhere. Instead of learning creativity through a fantasy literature course or improving writing skills through a journalism class, the credit hours that could improve their professional perspective are viewed as a way that the university increases tuition income. Better guidance and maybe even greater control of the alternative course options could improve the chances that the student will be exposed to ideas related to the philosophies in the bodies of knowledge.
