Fordham’s AP Policy Hinders Students’ Ability to Explore

By Angelica DiIorio

Throughout our years in high school, we studied and crammed for the daunting Advanced Placement tests that gave us “test fever” instead of spring fever. Although they were difficult and demanded many hours of our free time, we assumed it would all be worth it when we received college credit and became exempt from annoying freshman remedial courses.

However, when we got to Fordham, it seemed that all this effort had gone to waste. That AP United States History test did not transfer credits toward the core, and neither did that AP World History test.

We now have to take what is basically the same class as high school under a name that sounds slightly more college-appropriate, such as “Understanding Historical Change” instead of AP European History.

Fortunately, the credits from these tests are not neglected completely, since Fordham will give students credit for AP scores of four or five. However, only some courses exempt students from taking the introduction classes to a major, such as psychology. Fordham accepts most humanities AP tests as elective credits, which cannot count toward a major or the core.

It is nice that our numerous credits coming into college allow us to pick our classes earlier than our peers, but many of us feel slighted and believe that we are forced to take the same class again in college as we did in high school.

Fordham wastes our time and money by attempting to teach us skills and knowledge that we already know. The classes students who did not have the ability or liberty to take these courses in high school, but Fordham should not hold back students who could be spending that time furthering their education.

There are many on the Fordham staff who are responsible for this decision regarding the AP policy, one of them being Dr. Robert Parmach, the freshman dean at Rose Hill.

Naturally, Fordham is willing to defend its current policy by reiterating the values of the core. Dean Parmach spoke of the rigor of the core and justified its importance by explaining that the core is not only the “heart of your education, the center… but also a Fordham-branded Jesuit education which qualifies the rigors of our degree.” The core offers a level of standardization for all Fordham students, bringing their knowledge in all academic areas to the collegiate level.

The university wants to guarantee that all its students have taken classes taught within the proper methodology, content and rigor upon graduation. Parmach believes that the core would be diluted if the university granted too many exemptions based in AP credit. A diluted core would take away from the university’s central goal of instilling a high level of academic capability in its students.

The policy for the core curriculum has the capability to change over time. A few years ago, the university decreased the core’s size to allow students more room to fit classes of their choosing into their schedules. For example, in the older core, there were three required English classes as opposed to the two in the current core. Also, the AP credits that do count toward the core and majors are accepted because their content correlates with a Fordham course.

An AP test only earns a student an elective credit because there is nothing in the university that includes the same content.

Since the College Board varies tests from year to year, Fordham reevaluates the tests as well. If it seems that a test correlates with a Fordham course, those AP credits may be accepted that year.

Fordham is correct to give AP credit, and to give credit only to higher scores on these tests, but it should reconsider its placement of credit.

It would be more beneficial for the university and the students if Fordham accepted all AP tests credits towards the core. Simply put, more exemptions from required classes allow more space for elective courses.

Granting more credits toward core classes will leave room for a student to take more elective classes, exposing students to different fields, different professors and different ideas. The secondary level of core classes taken mostly by sophomore allows students to further develop their talents in a more specialized class, unlike the rudimentary introductory freshmen courses.

Another issue is that the extent of the curriculum differs between students, lending some to receive the benefits of a liberal arts core more than others. Some majors neglect departments that are usually perceived to be too disconnected from the student’s track. For example, those who are on the pre-med or pre-health tracks do not have language requirements. The classes currently devoted to each respective major are exceptionally intense and extensive, and there is little time to experiment in other fields.

However, according to the passionate statement by Dean Parmach, the opportunity to learn about varied topics is necessary and valuable.

Giving AP credit for all tests to the core would free up space in the schedules of those who currently have no room to adventure. Imagine someone who took AP tests for European history and music theory in high school. Right now, Fordham would only count those courses as an elective credit.

However, if the policy were to accept these credits toward the core, this student would now have three extra class spaces for other interests, as they would not have to take the introductory history and social sciences courses.

Utilizing these three openings, one could be halfway to completing a new language. Even though a major is intended to concentrate students’ interests, it should not limit them by constricting their areas of study too intently.

Fordham’s rationale for not accepting certain AP credits is that the content does not correlate with the core. However, Fordham ought to give credit for similar class content, even if it is not an exact match.

There is no point in making a student sit through a whole semester of a class only to learn a couple new bits of information. It is only going to make the students resentful and less likely to actively engage in the class. The extensive core is already a turn-off to prospective or potential students, who will be further disinterested when they learn that their hard work in achieving fours and fives on the AP tests will be seemingly irrelevant.

Hopefully, Fordham will continue to make adjustments to the core curriculum without compromising its purpose as a Jesuit institution. Although educating its students is Fordham’s main priority and long-term goal, it cannot ignore the demands and wishes of the student body. This is not a recent development; it has been present since the inception of AP classes in high schools. Fordham should adjust its curriculum to the changing times.

Angelica DiIorio, FCRH ’18, is an international studies and French major from White Plains, NY.