Facing budgetary constraint, many U departments will be cutting back on classes this summer. Although the current schedule isn’t final, cuts are occurring on a department-by-department basis. The diminishing summer class schedule is evidence of how the education the U offers to students is being negatively impacted by a decreasing budget.
Even with a schedule unaffected by budget cuts, many times students will never get a chance to take the course they want because of time conflicts. With fewer classes offered, this problem will be magnified. The English department has cut its summer schedule by 20 percent from last year. The economics and political science departments are registering decreases in course offerings as well. These three departments aren’t alone. Many students depend on Summer Semester to finish up their degrees. Some of these students are going to be forced to stay in school another semester because their classes aren’t offered during the summer.
Vincent Pecora, chairman of the English department, said, “Definitely, budget constraints affect being able to offer classes.”
Even worse, facing the chance of a significant rise in enrollment, the U would be left with more students and fewer classes than last year. Beyond the summer, this could predict the fate of following Fall and Spring semesters.
Some programs, such as the School of Business, look like they won’t be affected. But before you get excited about this success, you should know only three business classes were offered last summer. Those same classes will be returning.
Pecora said the budget will “remain difficult through next year,” and it is “likely next summer will register this cut.”
With more students enrolled, these cuts have arrived at an inopportune moment. This situation is an opportunity to look at more flexible ways to accommodate the students who want to move forward in their studies. This includes accommodations that will allow students to take independent study and find other ways to adapt to the environment of economic downturn.
I hope the Legislature will take note this week on how the schedule is being affected by higher education budget cuts.
Correction: Previously, this column stated that the David Eccles School of Business only offered three classes last summer. This did not account for classes classified under Accounting, Finance, Management, Marketing, Information Systems and OIS. Graduate and undergraduate schedules combined, the business school offered 107 classes in summer of 2008.
Kiyan Sharifan