Most of you are probably unaware of my recent WVU crisis, but the matter has been resolved today.
After this semester, I would only need 4 credits to graduate: Advertising Campaigns, Communications Organizations/Institutions, English Literature, and Humanities.
Unfortunately, the Humanities credit presented a problem, because the only Humanities classes offered this Spring are Hum102, which I have already had, and Hum104, which is 102 re-designated for Honors Program students. There is a list of about 10 Humanities courses which will fulfill a Humanities credit for Journalism students, however WVU only offers 101 and 102 (which I discovered after talking with the head of the Humanities Dept.). So basically, I would have no way of getting the Humanities credit–the epitome of liberal arts BS (Bull-Shit, not Bachelor-of-Science) classes–this semester.
…And therefore would not be able to graduate this semester.
…And therefore would have to pay for an additional semester of tuition.
…And therefore would have to sign an additional YEAR on my apartment lease.
…And therefore would have to put off entering the job market at the prime season.
…All for a Humanities 101 class that I could probably pass every test without ever going to the class.
And so, I was prepared to either take and online course offered by another college/university or commute to Fairmont State College, Bethany College, West Liberty State College, or any local Pennsylvania institution within two hours of driving that would offer me a Humanities class that I could transfer to WVU–while still attending WVU to acquire the other 3 credits that I need–to graduate in May.
But thankfully, I spent the day running around campus between the J-school and the Humanities Dept. talking to coordinators and associate deans and so forth until an even better solution was reached. The original idea was that the Humanities Dept. might offer me an independent study for which they would give me a Humanities credit that the J-school would accept. The Humanities Dept. is currently in transition of sorts and not prepared to offer such an option, but suggested that I take a Philosophy course and see if the J-school would accept that as an equivalent Humanities credit. So I went to Dr. Pinnel (Assoc. Dean of PIRSOJ) and asked what, if any, possibility there might be of that. He asked for a copy of my transcript and after looking it over, discussing some previous courses that I had taken at Concord College, and consulting the WVU Course Catalog, decided that a Philosophy (History of Ideas, II) course that I had taken at Concord was in fact equivalent to a Philosophy 248 course offered by WVU and that it would be acceptable for a Humanities credit.
Thank the Heavens, and thank the man who let me pester him during his smoke break.