General education is having majors in one field take a smattering of freshman classes in other fields, beyond those which the professors in the major think are necessary.

I guess it's that last part that is so bothersome: students take an entire year of extra classes to fulfill the GE requirements. That means they are giving up a year's final salary for a "more rounded education." That's a heck of a cost, and one I suspect no thinking student would allow if they had an option. But we university folk don't give them an option.

I suspect the core reason isn't to benefit the students: it's a ploy to keep students around paying tuition an extra year, sucking up more dollars to support themselves and their salary increases.

The ideas behind GE are from Aristotle, and they were no more proper when he proposed them than they are now. I'm a fan of Peter Rami (Ramus) and his simplified education. The Aristotelian "full slate education" was reformed by Rami, simplified, shortened, and students loved it. Educators hated it, because their salary depended on the lengthiness of the instruction. And as Rami put it back then (1532), Everything Aristotle Said is False.

Get rid of the Humanities. Get rid of the ethics. Get rid of the P.E. Let the major professors choose what's needed for their degrees, and shorten the programs and increase the graduation rates.