Speech in the Core: The Basic Course in General Education at the Small College

This paper begins with a literature review of the objectives of general education, giving special consideration to the possible role of communications skills. Because of current discussion and disagreement about what the basic general education requirements of a university should include, a survey was administered in 1981-82 to full-time faculty members at Butler University in Indiana to determine whether a basic speech class should be included in the general education requirements. The survey instrument consisted of 32 objectives for general education that faculty members were asked to rate on a scale from 5 (most important) to 1 (least important). From a full-time faculty of approximately 150, 107 responses were received. Although writing was ranked as first in importance by faculties in the colleges of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Business Administration, and Fine Arts and second in importance by those in the colleges of Education and Pharmacy, the latter two colleges ranked speaking ahead of writing. The faculty then took action to require public speaking, as well as composition, of all first-year undergraduates. The ability to express one's self verbally may become increasingly important in order to succeed in a competitive society. (DF)