Here at ACU there are 10 classes every student is required to take in order to graduate that they cannot be exempted from. Four of these classes consist of BIBL 101 Jesus: His Life and Teachings, BIBL 102 Life, Literature, and Community, BIBL 211 Message of the Old Testament and finally an advanced bible, which can be satisfied in several different capacities.

Each of these classes take a different approach to Christianity, but according to a recent twitter poll, in which twenty students responded, fifty percent of students required to take one of these classes described their overall experience as negative. Therefore, it is imperative the curriculum be founded in truth and principle.

As it stands now, any student who transfers here is required to take these four classes before they are given a degree. No matter how many hours they come in with, they can guarantee themselves 12 more hours of classes if they want to finish as a Wildcat.

It’s no secret many of these classes can create impactful experiences for the students. One student a sophomore, who has completed the three of the four required courses said so far each of the classes have fulfilled what she believes to be their purpose.

“The classes not only allowed me to study the bible more in depth, but also make connections relevant to my life now,” she said.

She also said she thinks the classes our important, but isn’t sure if they relate well to other courses taken over the course of college.

“I don’t think they were necessarily needed to prepare for other courses, but with choosing to come to a Christian university, I think they are important for people to take,” she said.

College is a journey and each class should build upon a foundation set early on in your experience. Although these classes might seem to contribute to the spiritual journey, they fail to give insight into the real world and often take a hypothetical stance.

Another student, a senior finance and accounting major, said he found half of his classes beneficial to his faith, while the other half were fact based and didn’t develop his faith. He also said the classes depended heavily on the subject and the professor.

Although it is important for a number of reasons that the university keeps these classes implemented, especially with what seems to be a momentous movement of universities away from the Christian faith. Texas Christian University, has recently stopped referring to themselves as a christian university and could eventually remove the title from their name. And Baylor University uses evolution as a foundational idea in their science departments.

It’s clear from a number of student’s input these classes have value, but these classes would be more valuable if they were revised more often.

One student, who recently finished his bible requirements, said he thought a lot of unneeded controversy was brought about in his classes.

“There’s a way to do bible classes that’s not just creating controversy and playing devil’s advocate,” he said. “My parents talk about ACU bible classes in high regards.”

The university created these classes to enhance student’s spiritual journey, but as it stands right now the positive and negative are dead even. If something is going to be required we owe it to our students to make sure it functions to the best of its abilities. Therefore, there needs to be more consistency among the classes and be a conglomerate effort by all the professors to see the students succeed.