Future Penn State students who enroll in journalism and telecommunications majors after this semester will have ten less credits to deal with.

Recent changes in the majors' graduation requirements have reduced their amount of total minimum credits from 130 to 120.

Doug Anderson, dean of the College of Communications, said the changes were made in the interests of strengthening the majors' curriculums.

"We feel that we have both streamlined and strengthened the requirements by taking a hard look at what had become over time credit-hour creep," Anderson said.

The number of credits required for each major had gradually increased, and the college felt it was necessary to reevaluate the curriculum, he said.

"Basically, there's been an increase in credits at universities over many years as faculty members add courses to adjust to changes in society and technology," University Spokesman Tysen Kendig said.

Since faculty members often had trouble coming to an agreement over what courses should be dropped after adding new ones, the original courses remained and the number of required credits gradually grew over the years, Kendig said.

The college has not only adjusted the number of credits but also the types of courses required to complete the majors.

The plan to reduce credits focuses on higher quality teaching methods, as opposed to a less effective program based on a greater quantity of credits, Kendig said.

While current students majoring in journalism or telecommunications can petition to switch to the new programs, a student with 120 credits may not necessarily be able to graduate if the new required courses are not fulfilled, Anderson said. All Penn State students currently enrolled in the two majors will remain under the old programs unless each specifically petitions to change.

There are many new requirements, and Anderson said students interested in the new programs should look at the majors' catalogues to find out what they are.

"They would have to explore very carefully the new requirements," he said. "Someone might decide that they prefer to be under the new catalogue."

The changes, one result of a general curriculum review launched by the college last fall, reflects a nation-wide trend in accredited communications programs. Most programs were found to have between 120 and 124 total required credits, Anderson said.

Kendig said the new program, for which the advertising and public relations major has already filed a request, is not a university-wide measure.

"There is no wide-spread mandate of 120 credits for graduation," he said. "That would be impractical."

While other majors in different colleges could ostensibly streamline their graduation requirements, Kendig said he was unaware of such changes taking place outside of the College of Communications.

Ron Filippelli, associate dean of administration and undergraduate studies in the College of the Liberal Arts, said his college is unlikely to revise its majors' requirements in the future.

Although some colleges have standardized their majors' curriculums with other universities, the College of the Liberal Arts has not done so, Filipelli said.