David F. Feldon in his article Why Magic Bullets Don't Work (Change 2010) encourages us to "let our students in on the secret once we have figured out what content needs to be taught." He notes that students "sincerely appreciate knowing up front what they will be learning, what is expected of them, how they will be assessed, and how all of these elements fit together." Sharing this, he explains, prevents them from "extraneous effort." Steven J. Bell writes in an op-ed piece that many professors are perplexed by their students’ entitlement complex. To their way of thinking, say the faculty, students see themselves as customers who deserve being treated as “always right” no matter how wrong, rude, inconsiderate, or otherwise bizarre they behave. Bell suggest that "faculty members should try designing an actual experience for their students, modeled on the principles and qualities of iconic user experiences." In case you missed it, The Chronicle of Higher Education published a story about recent legislation passed by our Texas legislators that applies to the time it takes students to graduate. Legislation signed into law this year will require all students to file degree plans after completing 45 semester hours of courses. Students who were tempted to wait out the recession by dabbling in a few more courses will have to convince advisers that all of the classes they're enrolling in count toward their degrees. The new law, House Bill 3025, will also allow transfer students to receive credentials retroactively when the credits they earn at an upper-level college complete the requirements for an associate degree they started at a junior college.