Last month Anne Neal, president of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, joined in a celebration of the 60th anniversary of the State University of New York, at which she lauded the breadth and rigor of its core curriculum adopted in 2000. (As a SUNY trustee at the time, I had a hand in instituting and implementing this reform.)

Commenting subsequently in the Buffalo News, Neal warned against indications of some “backsliding” by SUNY in its commitment to a strong general education:

there are some disturbing signs that should temper our celebration. The commendable freedom given to each campus to set requirements under the core has resulted in certain schools playing fast and loose with distribution requirements. Students can now fulfill their American history requirement by taking an English class in “American Environmental Literature” at Fredonia State or a linguistics class on “Language in Pluralistic America” at the University at Buffalo. There are also unresolved questions regarding transfer and implementation at the community college level.

Neal reminds us that sustaining high academic standards requires constant ”vigilance” on the part of campus trustees and leaders.

I would add that governing boards could better safeguard the quality of core curricula at instititions such as SUNY not only by relying on internal assessment of such curricula but also by engaging scholarly groups organized by ACTA to help in this assessment.