by Glenda Crawford
For the past three years, members of Phi Beta Kappa at Elon University have observed with deep concern the fact that national Phi Beta Kappa foreign language requirements disqualify many top students otherwise eligible for membership. The national requirements state:
Stipulation 3: Candidates shall have demonstrated, by successful work in high school or college, or in the two together, a knowledge of a second or non-native language at least minimally appropriate for a liberal education. In no case shall this mean less than the completion of the intermediate college level in a second, or non-native, language, or its equivalent.[1]
Chart A shows that 32.6 percent of the otherwise eligible students with GPAs greater than 3.73 were disqualified last year, and 35.2 percent were disqualified this year. The situation is becoming unfortunate. Had we explicitly followed the national requirement by requiring a second intermediate-level course (222), we would have disqualified almost half of otherwise qualified students. Our goal as a chapter is to implement the higher national requirement in the next five years but to exclude no students because of a foreign language deficiency – an impossible goal under current conditions.
CHART A: STUDENTS OTHERWISE ELIGIBLE FOR PBK MEMBERSHIP WHO DID NOT MEET FOREIGN LANGUAGE REQUIREMENTS
|
2012 |
2013 |
|
| Position of bottom student selected* |
98 |
105 |
| No credit for 221 or higher |
32 |
37 |
| % |
32.6% |
35.2% |
| No credit for 222 or higher |
43 |
48 |
| % |
43.8% |
45.7% |
This is not just a concern for the Phi Beta Kappa chapter. Rather, it is a concern for all Elon students, who reasonably but mistakenly have been led to think their graduation requirements are comparable to those of other superior arts and sciences institutions across the nation. And it is especially a problem in an institution whose mission statement affirms the goal of “preparing students to be global citizens” and whose Commitment Statement pledges us to educate “globally ready leaders.” Chart B shows that, for the past six years, only a fourth of our graduates have left the university with a 200-level foreign language credit or higher. This disparity between what we say and what we do is embarrassing.
CHART B: STUDENTS IN THE LAST SIX YEARS WHO GRADUATED WITH A 200-LEVEL FOREIGN LANGUAGE OR HIGHER
|
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
|
| Graduates with credit for 200-level foreign language class or higher |
286 |
264 |
256 |
246 |
283 |
287 |
| Total Graduates |
1035 |
1089 |
1121 |
1118 |
1127 |
1117 |
| % with 200-level foreign language or higher |
27.6 |
24.2 |
22.8 |
22.0 |
25.1 |
25.7 |
For these reasons, members of Eta Chapter, North Carolina, ask the faculty and administrative leadership of the university to require all Elon students to complete a foreign language course on the 221 level, or its equivalent, for graduation.
In addition, we ask faculty and administration to take the following intermediate steps while we work on the larger goal of raising the campus-wide requirement:
- Assist the Fellows Programs, the Honors Program and the Lumen Scholars in strengthening their foreign language requirements;
- Add a line on check sheets and advising material, including the On Track degree audit, to inform students that PBK asks for language competency above existing requirements;
- Integrate foreign language competency into study abroad programs;
- Increase the visibility of foreign languages in the culture of our campus and in promotional and admissions materials;
- Expand support for existing foreign language programs, living-learning communities, El Centro, etc.;
- Assist the departments in Arts and Sciences (and other interested schools) in jointly adding a language requirement for their majors;
- Work with the deans and the Student Professional Development Center to articulate how deep language instruction can be professionally beneficial.