There was a time not so long ago when, in order to graduate from high school, students had to demonstrate proficiency in Greek or Latin. Both, if they went to a tough school.

Today, you can earn a college degree from Palomar College without studying U.S. history.

I acknowledge the fact that the college administrators were bowing to pressure from an accrediting agency -- which concerns me even more. How are we supposed to compete on an international stage when our accrediting agencies are pressuring American colleges to dumb-down their curriculum?

Having taught an upper-division journalism class at an accredited four-year university for seven years, and having taken French and cabinetry at Palomar in recent years, I know what kind of challenges both students and faculty face today.

But asking less of our students sends exactly the wrong message.

Does a nurse need to know about the raid on Harper's Ferry before she can competently administer an injection or change a dressing?

Perhaps not.

But understanding how John Brown's armed attack fueled tensions on the eve of the Civil War might help make those nurses more informed voters. Seeing how Brown's violent action sparked extreme emotions on both sides of the slavery debate, inherently making the looming war more likely, might cause modern voters to be more suspicious of today's demagogues.

Part of the mission of a college -- especially a public college like Palomar, funded and supported by the citizenry -- is to prepare people to be informed citizens.

Eliminating a history requirement is pretty hard to square with that responsibility.

An associate's degree isn't just a certificate -- we have separate criteria for issuing degrees and certificates. A certificate is a document declaring that the recipient has mastered a specified skill set. A nurse with a certificate, we can safely assume, knows how to competently administer that injection or change that dressing.

But a nurse with a two-year college degree should have more than technical proficiency: he or she should possess a well-rounded education that includes a basic knowledge from a variety of disciplines.

A college degree should mean something -- and when we lower the academic criteria necessary to complete a degree, we implicitly lower the value of that degree.

The question facing us is a philosophical one (another discipline increasingly undervalued by our high schools, colleges and universities): What types and depth of knowledge should we expect our citizens to possess?

Get rid of the liberal studies component of our scientific and technical degree programs, and we might as well convert our colleges and universities to trade schools.

Contact staff writer JIM TRAGESER at jtrageser@nctimes.com or 760-740-5408.