My name is D.S, I am currently a junior studying as a STEM major at Belmont University. According to their website, the WELL-CORE program was developed by Belmont in order to produce well-rounded students who have experience in all areas of life. These manifest as events and lectures pertaining to certain categories for students to attend.

Unfortunately, these requirements demand an unreasonable amount of time from students, and have had a negative impact on the mental and physiological health of the student body. Students are expected to complete 50 hours of WELL-CORE, alongside 128 credit hours for a Bachelor's degree, and two-three hours of homework per hour spent in class. 

On the WELL-CORE portion of the Belmont website, I quote:

"The purpose of WELL Core is to nurture in each student the capacity to live a life that is satisfying, with a sense of meaning and purpose, encompassing all dimensions of human life. In order to graduate students are required to earn a total of 50 Well Core credits (adjusted for transfer students), 5 in each of the following categories: Intellectual, Occupational, Financial, Cultural, Spiritual, Physical, Environmental, Emotional, and Service.” 

This is a statement of irony, as the excessive requirements demanded of the student body actually prevent us from  having a "capacity to live a life that is satisfying” due to the unnecessary stress Belmont puts on students.

Belmont also requires that each student complete 128 hours of schoolwork to complete their degree, with each hour of class representing 2-3 hours of homework a night. It is unethical to demand that much time from students. It forces us to put our passions, interests, and careers aside for something that is unfulfilling and stress-inducing. Not only does the dense and unnecessary requirement put extra stress on students, it does not take into consideration the diversity of Belmont’s student body. For example, the dense requirements do not take any of these student populations into account:

• Belmont students who are neurodivergent, mentally ill, or have intellectual disabilities have to spend twice as much time on schoolwork as other students. While we have accommodations, they are aimed at making classes more accessible to us, and they do not actually help reduce the extra time we have to spend on work.  On top of this, there is no WELL-CORE credit accommodations for students with disabilities.
• Commuter students who cannot always make it to the limited time slots for the events, and who have to travel back and forth between the campus multiple times a day.
• Low-income students who have to work 40+ hour weeks to support themselves and pay for college at the same time, whose work lives are considerably more important than optional seminars.
• Students who are in the honors program or double-majoring or minoring, and still are required to complete the hours regardless of their extra academic load.
• Students with academically rigorous majors that require harder coursework with more out of class time than the average student, like Audio Engineering, Neuroscience, Biochemistry, and Nursing.

 With only a 58% graduation rate for a regular four-year path, even the statistics show that most students cannot cope with the stress. The graduation rates only turn to a positive when looking at the six-year statistics, and their retention rates only observe freshman to sophomore year retention. Their yearly tuition is $55,130 for an academic year. The cost of attending six years would be at least $300,000, which doesn’t take into consideration constantly rising tuition costs, as well as increased students fees.

The categorization of Well-Core credits stop students from attending events that interest them. The mandatory nature of the program makes the lectures and events feel like a burden rather than an opportunity to grow, and there are no alternatives. If we could receive credit for professor-approved major specific work, we would be fulfilling the career and academic requirements simultaneously, but that isn’t an option. If we could receive credit for the learning and growing we do outside of class; like extra credit assignments, or participation in on-campus organizations, we would be rewarded for our participation, and this would boost interest in many of the clubs on campus that students disregard due to time constraints. If more major-specific seminars took place, attendance would increase among students who want to learn something new, pertaining to their future careers, rather than those who just need to fulfill a specific requirement. Events could be held at more accessible times, but are restricted by many students’ class schedules, jobs, and classwork that must be done outside of class, within tight deadlines.

 The students of Belmont are tired of putting our mental and physiological health aside for Belmont. We are tired of not being able to pursue our passions and our interests. We’re tired of having to sacrifice our scarce free time for poorly constructed events and lectures, because of a requirement that exists just to artificially boost attendance. Belmont students should be able to live their lives to the fullest, and we shouldn’t have to make sacrifices solely in order to graduate.

 This petition is asking that the WELL-CORE requirements be lowered to 20 to 30 hours, two or three in each category, or at least allowed more events to be online. This allows students to be “well-rounded” and doesn’t distract from their academic, work, home, and personal lives. Life is meant to be enjoyed and celebrated. We as students cannot have a “life that is satisfying” if our lives are being ruled by an external force that doesn’t allow us to truly live. We need to slow down, and claim our lives. Join the fight, and help Belmont students reclaim their lives.