Undergraduates have for over a decade been questioning the value of B.A. degrees in English. Of late many have been voicing their anxieties about the practicality and marketability of the degree, and record numbers of them have felt compelled to drop the major despite their professed interest in English language and literature. ADE Bulletin (1983)

If I worked for four hours on biology I would be absolutely miserable, yet I worked for probably ten on my "Tyger" collage alone. This is what college classes should be all about, new approaches to things we thought we knew all about. Thanks for letting me think originally again. -- Literature & New Media Student

The trend for English since 1997 is not typical, even for other fields in the arts and humanities. In foreign languages, history, philosophy and religion, and visual and performing arts, the percentage share of bachelor’s degrees has either increased or remained steady. -- ADE Bulletin (2007)