Should UVA Really Have Instituted the New Curriculum?

On October 18th, 2019, the political process failed UVA. It was on this date that the faculty at UVA voted 260-253 (I think those were the numbers Professor Coppock told us; can't find the actual vote count) to make it mandatory for all incoming students in the College of Arts and Science to enroll in the New Curriculum; only a simply majority was needed for this measure to pass. For anyone unaware, the requirements of the New Curriculum include four 2 credit classes called engagements, 6 credits in Rhetoric for the 21st Century (think first and second writing requirement), 6 credits in Quantification, Computation and Data Analysis, the regular foreign language requirement, and 3 credits in 7 different disciplines: Artistic, Interpretive, and Philosophical Inquiry, The Chemical, Mathematical, and Physical Universe, Cultures and Societies of the World, Historical Perspectives, Living Systems, Social and Economic Systems, and Science and Society.

This post is not my opinion on the New Curriculum, but the facts on why this decision should not have passed. Currently, there are 1,900 students enrolled in the New Curriculum. UVA's College of Arts and Sciences has about 12,000 undergraduates but only 6,000 who had the choice to choose the New Curriculum. That means that 68% of students who could have chosen to enroll didn't. Many students choose not to enroll because for them, the marginal cost exceeded the marginal benefit. By requiring all students to enroll, there is a high external cost. When comparing external costs and decision making costs, it is obvious that more than a simple majority should have been required. Congratulations UVA, we now have an inefficient allocation of resources!