By

PRO: A university is what a college becomes when the faculty loses interest for the students

By Jeff Snyder

It is not often that I line up in support of President Shumaker and the administration. It seems that the past few years have brought skyrocketing tuition costs, larger class sizes, and less flexibility for U of L students. I have probably spent more time on campus than many professors but I have yet to see Mr. Shumaker out of his office talking to us regular folks. The idea of charging a per-credit hour rate for full-time students is repugnant and will likely increase the time needed to earn a degree. If this is what you get during a Challenge for Excellence then give me the Pursuit of Mediocrity any day.

Still, I am not opposed to everything that President Shumaker has proposed. Dropping areas of study for which students have shown little interest is probably a good thing. One of the programs singled out is the German (BA). The University has decreed (with input from the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education) that undergraduate degrees must average twelve graduates per year. Assuming most students declare their major in their sophomore year, that means that each program needs to maintain only about thirty or forty students to survive. That is thirty or forty out of roughly 20,000 students at UofL. A Cardinal source indicated the German (BA) program graduated only about three students per year. For that, the university employed four professors in the German department. That, my friends, is a travesty.

Before you start composing your letters to the editor complaining about me consider two issues. First, despite what many students believe, money does not grow on trees in their parents’ backyards. The University of Louisville is a publicly funded institution with limited resources. The money needed to maintain the German, Russian, and Interior Design departments comes from your tuition and out of your paycheck in the form of our punitive tax code. The students majoring in those areas pay the same tuition as you do, but while you and thirty-five of your closest friends crowd into a classroom for a 300 level course, the senior German major is having a nice one-on-one class with his professor. Think about that. Second, a college or university cannot be all things to all people. It must focus on the needs of its students and emphasize those areas of study most utilized by the student body. If enough UofL students were interested in a Linguistics degree for example, then that program would not be on the chopping block.

U of L is a community resource. We, as students, are the university’s customers. While it does not always work that way, in this case the university is providing for us the degrees in which we are most interested. The costs of these programs are disproportional to the benefits reaped by the students or the community. Continued funding of these programs is contrary to the university’s mission.

Jeff Snyder is a senior history major and a columnist for The Louisville Cardinal.

CON: Could more have been done before dropping A & S programs?

By Eric Groves

I have but one question for administrators who decide to terminate the 13 Arts and Sciences programs: did you really do enough before making what appears to be a rash decision? I ask this for a simple reason. As any observant student on the Belknap Campus has noted, many degree programs (both graduate and undergraduate) receive oodles of advertisement inside and outside of buildings everywhere. I personally have seen fliers for Law School, Medical School, English, and several others. Perhaps some students weren’t aware that many of the soon deleted programs were available for them to study.

I understand the need for tighter budget constraints, but at what costs, and who benefits? It certainly doesn’t behoove the students who actually have to PAY for these new tuition hikes. All higher tuition rates do is alienate the current student body and potential students who can find an equally good education for less money. When it comes to money it always seems to be, “How much can we save?” or “How much in the black will we end up?” It’s never about, “What becomes of Joe Faculty and his family?” or “What if Jane didn’t want to change majors?” Too often, people are overlooked when it comes to figures.

And what’s to become of the faculty? Are they just to be cast aside-including tenured professors-after years of faithful service to U of L? Sure they will be able to find work elsewhere, but what if they have roots here in the Derby City? Or what if they have family? Already one (of only four tenured professors on campus) German professor has resigned due to these cuts. As per usual, when budget analysis is concluded, it always fails to take into account a very important factor: the human-interest factor.

I understand and agree with Dr. Shumaker’s effort to strengthen U of L’s agenda, but 34 programs cut is an extremely high number of degree programs to be cut. Is cutting under-utilized degree programs the right way to do it? Why not advertise those degree plans more? Have all efforts been exhausted to try to recruit curriculums? Likely, the answer is no. As per usual, management will take the easy way out and just start red inking anything they can to save money.

Eric Groves is a junior English major and a staff writer for The Louisville Cardinal.