The university's Committee on Undergraduate Education last week organized a subcomittee to look into possible changes to the First Year Seminar program required for all freshmen.

The committee has proposed making the seminars more uniform for all students, university-wide.

While the seminar program should absolutely be made more uniform for everyone, the best option is not to establish university-wide regulations.

Doing that would be unfair to faculty members who do try to set up interesting classes that teach students valuable tools in their education.

Instead, the university should consider implementing college-specific guidelines that allow those teachers some freedom and creativity while still giving students' a more standardized experience.

Penn State's First Year Seminars have traditionally had little structure; some have served as very basic guides to the university and bridges from high school to college, while others have been set up as guides to the college or introductory courses that teach skills pertinent to students' majors.

It is important to give first year students that stepping-stone into college that teaches them basic facts about the university, but dedicating entire courses to that topic is unnecessary.

Doing so is more harmful to a student's education than anything.

There are currently seminars that teach basic skills like using Microsoft Word and the Internet -- skills that most students these days know well before graduating high school. For these students, sure, they are getting an easy class, but what type of education does that provide?

Instead of teaching students how to use the library, the university should provide guidelines and let teachers give assignments that combine using university resources while learning about different majors in the college.

For undecided students, a seminar that focuses on teaching about the different colleges within the university would be a very beneficial thing, instead of the current practice of just allowing that student to sign up for whatever seminar he or she wants.

In the end, the purpose of a first year seminar is to provide students with an overview of what they will be doing for the next four years of their lives. Instead, some students right now are getting classes that are harder than some of their major classes, while others spend time learning how to use computers.

Hopefully the university will realize this and address the need for standardizing the one-credit classes.