The Ohio State University Undergraduate Curriculum Review Committee has released its results in a report to be reviewed by various university councils. The foreign language requirement is one which, despite some students’ wishes, will remain unchanged.

All OSU students enrolled in the College of Arts and Sciences and students in the international business program are required to complete four quarters of a foreign language.

“We examined research about foreign language study from many sources, including U.S. governmental statistics, before coming to our conclusion that maintaining our current language requirement was academically necessary to ensure quality undergraduate education at OSU,” said Marilyn Blackwell, chairwoman of the Undergraduate Curriculum Review Committee.

The current standard is not asking too much of students, Blackwell said

“In reality, less than 2 percent of the students have to take four full quarters of a foreign language,” Blackwell said.

Blackwell was referring to the placement test nearly all incoming students must take. Students scoring anything above a 19 percent are placed into the 102.66 level course, ‘skipping’ their first quarter, if they choose to continue studying the tested language.

“I think its ridiculous that I have to waste so many quarters taking foreign language requirements when my major is zoology,” said Brandon Groff, a junior in zoology.

Groff is among many students who hold strong feelings against the four-quarter requirement. According to OSU statistics, 54 percent of the student body has to fulfill this foreign language requirement, and more students take these classes in their quest to determine their major.

“The requirement is quite intentionally stated as a skill requirement. It does not require four full quarters, simply a proficiency to the level of 104 courses,” said Don Dell, associate professor of psychology.

Some students view the skill requirement as additional work.

“I just transferred to OSU this year, and they informed me that I had to take four quarters before I could graduate. It’s not something I need for my career, and it is just adding extra work to my last year,” said Sarah Bruns, a senior in communications.

The University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University share similar foreign language requirements of four semesters for arts and science majors only. Terrilyn Meel, BGSU Foreign Language Department associate, said the requirement has remained the same as long as she had been there and seemed to be sufficient.

Ohio University has a slightly higher foreign language requirement of two years, but students are given credit for any high school foreign language classes taken.

“We do not have a mandatory placement test for foreign languages. We look at different language high school courses taken and accredit students based on that information,” said Jan Harmon, BGSU department administrator of foreign languages.

The requirements at other Ohio schools are generally not reviewed by curriculum committees, because OSU has defined other schools as the competitive standard.

“It is the benchmark schools upon which curriculum is evaluated,” said Blackwell.

Benchmark schools include: University of Wisconsin, which requires only those students pursuing a Bachelor of Arts to take four semesters of foreign language; the University of Florida, where Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Sciences students must take two semesters; and the University of Michigan, which has a requirement similar to OSU.

It is difficult to evaluate OSU curriculum based on these schools due to the lack of a common standard. Some schools operate on semester and other segmented time periods not directly equivalent to quarters.

While the University of Illinois has a lesser requirement, the entire university, regardless of major, is obligated to take a foreign language. Roughly half of the benchmark schools have similar or greater requirements as OSU.

According to a publication from the Foreign Services Institution in Washington DC, even universities demanding four quarters do not produce student education levels proficient above the level of a native-speaking youth. The publication reports that following 240 hours of studying a language, an intermediate fluency level is obtained.

The student should be able to communicate needs necessary to life, but is generally unable to communicate well on a societal level.